Sugar Cube
by Thirrin73
Summary: As Sakura sat there in nothing but her underwear, a bottle of sake in hand and the arms of a pair of extremely drunk criminals draped over her shoulders, she realized that everything she thought she knew about the Akatsuki was dead wrong. • AkaSaku •
1. Prologue: Tonight's the Night

**title: **Sugar Cube

**summary: **As Sakura sat there in nothing but her underwear, a bottle of Sake in hand and the arms of a pair of extremely drunk criminals draped over her shoulders, she realized that everything she thought she knew about the Akatsuki was dead wrong.

**pairing: **AkaSaku, Akatsuki/Sakura; ItaSaku, Itachi/Sakura; KisaSaku, Kisame/Sakura; SasoSaku, Sasori/Sakura; DeiSaku, Deidara/Sakura; HidaSaku, Hidan/Sakura; KakuSaku, Kakuzu/Sakura; ZetsuSaku, Zetsu/Sakura; TobiSakuMada, Tobi/Sakura/Madara; PeinSaku, Pein/Sakura; KonaSaku, Konan/Sakura

**genre: **Romance, Humor, Adventure, Action, Drama

**AU?: **In the sense that this will never be canon? Yes, indeed. Certain happenings from the Itachi-Sasuke fight and on up have been altered...

**inspiration: **Four very inspiring AMVs from YouTube:

www. youtube .com/watch?v=vBcSrGsd5v0 (A lovely KonaSaku to the song _Sugar Cube _by Porcelain and the Tramps)

www. youtube .com/watch?v=gjt2NmpO1lE (A smexy AkaSaku to the song _Smooth Criminal _by Alien Ant Farm)

www. youtube .com/watch?v=jNUes2ObFOA (An awesome AkaSaku to the song _Daddy's Little Defect _by Sugarcult)

www. youtube .com/watch?v=lskCBxcM00U (And finally, a wonderful AkaSaku-picture-full video to the songs _Yuukyou Seishunka_ by Ali Project and _Crawl_ by Veltpunch)

**warning: **Language, possible M-rated lemony-ness, fluff, very slight Yuri, and probable spelling and grammatical errors. Also, Angsty beginning. But don't worry, the funny arrives soon. Rating could go up.

**disclaimer: **_Naruto _and its characters rightfully belong to Masashi Kishimoto. All quotes/lyrics used belong to their respectful owner. I own nothing but the plot and possible OCs used.

**notes: **Because every Sakura-Fanfiction-Author out there has done a 'Sakura Joins the Akatsuki and has an Awesome Time'-story and who was I to break the tradition? Besides, those videos I mentioned *points up* really got me in the mood for some Akatsuki/Sakura-ness. And it's been a while since I wrote some good fluffy humor.

And I love the Akatsuki.

And I love Sakura.

And I love Sakura _with_ the Akatsuki.

And I love the Akatsuki _wanting_ Sakura.

And need I say more?

Yes.

When I say 'AkaSaku', I mean _AkaSaku. _That means that there will also be Konan/Sakura in here. So, if Yuri doesn't float your boat, don't read. KonaSaku is my OTYP (One True Yuri Pairing) and I've been wanting like _hell _to write some. I know a lot of people out there don't approve of Yuri, so that's why this has sexy Akatsuki-men paired up with Sakura as well. :) Just ignore the parts you don't like and we all get what we want.

Besides, the KonaSaku will be slight and probably more of a Friendship than Romance.

In regards to Tobi-Madara, I'll just explain it all here. Yes, Madara is still the behind-the-scenes-Leader, but I'm using my own version of Tobidara. Madara emerges when he wants to and, by now, everyone knows that he resides in Tobi.

So, Tobi is Tobi.

But also Madara.

And Madara likey Sakura.

But so does Tobi.

And that's where the conflict come in.

Enjoy :)

**::**

_**Sugar Cube**_

_**-Prologue-**_

_**Tonight's the Night**_

**::**

_Look into the light  
>The words standing out<br>The disco ball is going around  
>I say "Nooo", I say "Ohhh"<em>

**::**

It had never occurred to Sakura that she would ever completely surpass her shishou. And she had _definitely _never foreseen Danzo's rise to power. Of course, Danzo's influence was so perfectly hidden no one but those closest to the Hokage knew of his gradual poisoning of Konoha. And Sakura's power was something she _knew _was growing but had never fully comprehended the sheer leaps and bounds it had taken.

But, it was those two surprising possibilities-turned-reality that had led to Sakura staging her defection from Konoha and leaving on a mission Tsunade had secretly given her. Even now, as she flitted through the tree tops miles away from her home, she still couldn't completely believe what she was doing. Straps of her pack clutched tightly in her hands and breathing heavy as she darted from branch to branch, glancing occasionally over her cloaked shoulder with worried eyes, Sakura contemplated how she had gotten herself into this mess.

**::**

When the fully armored and masked ANBU (who she knew just _had_ to be Kakashi by the way he had ruffled her sleep-mussed hair) had appeared on her bedroom windowsill in the middle of the night, Sakura had felt her stomach tighten in a mixture of anxiety, worry, and curiosity.

"Haruno Sakura." He had said, voice muffled by the wolf-mask. "Hokage-sama requests your immediate presence." He had disappeared with a small cloud of smoke after pausing and fondly ruffling her hair without another word. Oh, that was _definitely_ Kakashi. Sakura had quickly dressed and arrived outside her shishou's door in a swirl of cherry blossoms, her eyebrows furrowed and fingernails digging into her palms. After a quick knock, she had entered the Hokage's office, the knot in her gut growing at the sight of the look on Tsunade's face.

"Shishou?"

Tsunade's gaze had immediately focused and snapped to her apprentice's face, corners of her lips lifting in a bitter smile. Kakashi appeared by the Hokage's side, his ANBU mask moved to the side of his head and the corner of his visible eye crinkling. Tsunade glanced at the Copy Nin then turned her attention back to the rosette.

"All that is about to be spoken in this room will not leave or be repeated to anyone. Am I clear?" Tsunade had said, fingers laced together and folded under her chin. Sakura had automatically straightened and Kakashi's eye seemed to harden in worry.

"Hai, Shishou!"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

Content with their responses, she had pinned Sakura with a sturdy gaze, hands falling to lay on her desk.

"Haruno Sakura. You are being assigned a S-Class mission that will last anywhere from three months to three years." She paused, expression softening as she watched her apprentice's eyes widen slightly. "You have the choice of declining this mission now and returning home. What has happened tonight will have never been and someone else will be contacted and given the same offer. What is your decision?"

Expression determined, Sakura had answered.

"I accept the mission."

A pained look had flashed across Tsunade's face before her expression returned to serious. Kakashi seemed slightly more worried and was glancing at Tsunade out of the corner of his eye.

"Alright." She had said, fighting the urge to ask Sakura once again, "Your mission details will be discussed briefly and you will immediately return home to pack and then leave the village tonight to begin." Sakura nodded curtly and Tsunade's stiff demeanor melted away.

"Sakura, this mission will entail you faking your betrayal to Konoha and setting off to..." She paused again, not looking at Sakura's slightly shocked face. "To join the organization, Akatsuki, under the pretense of defection." Kakashi's gaze had snapped to Tsunade, eye widening, while Sakura's face paled.

"Tsunade-sama, you can't be serious." His expression hardened as he moved forward, fist firmly planted on the desk. "Sakura is-"

"Sakura has already accepted the mission." She snapped, head swiveling to pin the silver-haired man with a angered glare. "And I have complete faith in my apprentice." She spoke softly as she looked back at Sakura, expression morphing into a motherly and worried look.

"Sakura, your medical training has ended and you have surpassed me entirely." The rosette's jaw dropped slightly before she stepped forward at Tsunade's gesture.

"In fact, in both strength and medical ninjutsu, you have flown past my teaching faster than I had ever imagined. I am so very proud of you and the kunoichi you have become. I have no doubt that you will be successful in this mission. But," Honey eyes softening and lips quirking in a comforting smile, "If you choose, you can still back out of this."

Sakura had clenched her fists and straightened, face determined. "If my shishou believes in me, then there is no reason to doubt myself. I'm sticking to this Shishou, I give you my word."

Kakashi had smiled proudly at his former student and stepped back from the desk, trusting that his Hokage knew what she was doing.

"Good. Now, your mission will be to join the Akatsuki, gain their trust, and eventually propose a truce with their leader to both end the hunt for the Jinchuuriki and become allies with the Konoha." Emerald eyes had widened slightly before Sakura gave a slight sigh of relief.

"For a minute there, Shishou, I thought you were going to tell me to infiltrate the Akatsuki and destroy them from the inside." Kakashi's lips had quirked under his mask and Tsunade had smiled slightly.

"No, that would have been a suicide mission for _anyone_." Her eyes hardened in warning, "But don't think this will be any less dangerous. Gaining the trust of the Akatsuki could prove to be mentally draining as well as physically." Sakura nodded in understanding.

"Now, the reason for this mission." Even Kakashi seemed to lean forward slightly as Tsunade explained.

"Danzo is attempting to take over Konoha. I have reason to believe that he will stage a rebellion in the near future. I have already been informed of him trying to form alliances with other, smaller, countries and of his ROOT forces growing." Tsunade hung her head in agitation, Kakashi and Sakura exchanging worried glances. "Apparently, he might have already gained the aid of Sound. He is close to forming a large enough army to take down not only Konoha, but Suna as well. "

She looked up at Sakura determinedly.

"Our only hope is to gain the aid of the Akatsuki and take Danzo down when and if he decides to declare war. Sakura," She sent her apprentice a resolute look. "While you attempt to form an alliance with the Akatsuki, we will be trying to remove Danzo and his forces from Konoha so that we will be on proper grounds for battle. As I said, it is uncertain how long this could take. So," She smiled weakly, "No rush."

"Will I be able to contact you for mission updates, Shishou? Or will my faux-defection be definite?" Tsunade smiled fondly at Sakura, "Yes, one of Katsuyu's daughters will make the best messengers, I believe." The rosette nodded and Kakashi stepped forward slightly.

"Will anyone else know of Sakura's mission? Or will it only be the three of us, Tsunade-sama?" He asked, still slightly worried for Sakura.

Her expression hardened as she crossed her arms and straightened in her chair. "No. Sakura's betrayal to Konoha will be true, no matter how unbelievable, in the eyes of everyone but we three. Kakashi," She said, head inclining toward the Copy Nin. "It will be your duty to make sure that Sakura leaves Konoha and the surrounding forest safely and free of detection. You will also be assigned to any retrieval teams formed to _subtly_ sabotage any attempts to bring her back or take her down by Konoha shinobi. Got it?"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

Sakura bit her lower lip as something occurred to her.

"What about Naruto?"

Dread pooled in Sakura's stomach at the thought of how the blonde would react to hearing that she had betrayed Konoha. In fact, she hated to think of how _any_ of her friends would feel.

"First thing tomorrow morning, before anyone realizes that Sakura is missing, Uzumaki Naruto will be assigned an A-Rank, two-week long, reconnaissance and assassination mission in Wave, along with Nara Shikamaru, Inuzuka Kiba, and Hyuuga Neji." Here she had grinned slightly. "Wouldn't want any of our local geniuses or top trackers to be available when word gets out of your defection."

Sakura smiled sadly, nodding to herself.

"I-is that all, Shishou?"

Giving a curt nod, Tsunade stood up and approached her apprentice.

"Haruno Sakura, you are hereby stripped of your status as a loyal kunoichi of Konoha under the pretense of betrayal. You will be hunted and attacked upon sight starting at sunrise or when word of your desertion spreads." Tears started to form in Sakura's eyes but she stubbornly held them back and Tsunade continued to speak, her own honey-orbs glistening with unshed tears. "Your mission to infiltrate and join the Akatsuki begins now. Once your mission is complete and a truce has been formed, you will return here and your rank and status as a Konoha kunoichi will be returned to you." She grinned bitterly here. "And then Danzo is going down."

"Hai, Shishou!" Sakura saluted, smiling bravely. Emotions getting the better of her, Tsunade gathered her apprentice in her arms and hugged her tightly.

"Be careful, Sakura." She whispered into her hair, kissing her temple softly.

"Of course. I'll miss you, Shishou." Sakura replied quietly, arms tightening around her mother-figure. Tsunade hummed in encouragement before stepping back.

"I'll miss you too. Now," She held out a small sealed scroll, willing away the tears in her eyes. "Here are the last known locations of various Akatsuki. Go pack quickly and meet Kakashi at the gates in five or so minutes. Good luck, Sakura."

Sakura smiled softly, took the scroll, and bowed. She gave Tsunade one last hug before disappearing in a swirl of cherry blossom petals.

"Kakashi."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?"

"Take care of my daughter."

"Of course."

"Then get your ass back here so we can get rid of Danzo and bring Sakura home sooner." She smirked and looked over her shoulder at the silver haired ANBU. He chuckled and bowed jokingly.

"You got it."

After he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, Tsunade slowly shuffled back to her desk, worry, dread, anger, and a sliver of hope flooding her features. She sat down and cradled her head in her hands, silent sobs racking her body. She looked through her fingers at the photo-frames littering her desk. Eyes landing on the picture of her beloved apprentice, Tsunade smiled cynically and straightened, swiveling in her chair to stand and look out the wide window behind her desk.

'_Danzo, I'm going to make you regret ever driving me to these extremes. Good luck Sakura, I believe in you.'_

**::**

Once home, Sakura had quickly packed all the necessities for her mission. All of her weapons were stashed in various places of her person, extra clothes and toiletries were packed into her pack, a large supply of soldier pills and chakra and blood replenishing pills were safely tucked in her medical pack at her hip, the information Tsunade had given her in her backpack as well, and a certain special scroll was strapped to her back. After throwing a dark cloak over her shoulders and stuffing her gloves into her pocket, she removed her hitai-ate and cradled it in her hands for a moment.

She stared down at her forehead protector, finger tracing the symbol of Konoha. She knew what she had to do, but it still hurt to think about it._ 'As a rouge-nin, I'll have to...'_

Eyes set in determination, Sakura gathered a small amount of chakra in her forefinger and held it up to her hitai-ate. With a quick powerful flick, a crack broke through the metal, scarring the once smooth surface. Her thumb trailed over the long scratch, heart nearly stopping in agony when the pad brushed the ruined leaf symbol.

Tears gathered in her eyes once more, but she stubbornly brushed them away and clenched her fist in resolve. She retied her hitai-ate around her neck and looked over her apartment once more. Content with what she saw, she locked the door from the inside and brushed past her furniture to enter her bedroom, cloak billowing out behind her. She opened her bedroom window and perched a foot on the sill, hand on the frame and body tense to jump.

She looked down, eyes traveling to a familiar photo on the table by the window. Her heart clenched as her fingers lightly trailed over the photo of the original Team Seven, a smile softening her face as she thought of her teammates and sensei.

"Naruto. I promise, I'll be home soon." She whispered to the photo and frigid air.

Slowly, she picked the frame up and set it facedown on the table, giving her room another once over before shouldering her pack, pulling her hood over her face, and leaping out her window.

She landed in a graceful crouch in the street below and silently took off towards the village gates. She ignored the familiar sights of the Yamanaka Flower Shop and Ichiraku Ramen Stand as she raced through the streets, thoughts of her friends shoved from her mind. She saw Kakashi standing by the gates ahead and continued to run. She passed through the gates without slowing and her former sensei took off after her, jumping into the trees just as she did.

After they had been running at top speed for a few hours, they neared the Fire Country border, the slight rays of the rising sun occasionally piercing the foliage above. Kakashi appeared next to her as she jumped through the trees and gestured downwards. She nodded and jumped to the ground. He landed next to her, glancing back in the direction they had come.

"I guess this is it, huh, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura said, fingering the hem of her cloak. He turned back to her, smiling under his mask, and ruffled her hair affectionately. "Yeah, I guess so."

His eye hardened in and his masked expression turned serious. "Be careful, Sakura-chan. I'll do my best to keep you safe from hunter-nin and retrieval parties."

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei." She murmured, eyes down. Smiling sadly to himself, Kakashi pulled her to him and hugged her gently.

"I'm serious, Sakura-chan. Be safe." He said, holding her close. She nodded against his chest and wrapped her arms around him as well. He gently held her away from him after a few moments and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Good luck."

"You too, Kakashi-sensei."

"And try to stay away from Suna. Once word of your betrayal gets out, Sand shinobi will probably be set on alert as well." He said, voice taking on a fatherly tone.

Sakura smiled up at him and nodded before stepping back.

"Bye, Kakashi-sensei."

"See you soon, Sakura-chan."

Kakashi disappeared in a small cloud of smoke and Sakura sighed, reaching into her pack for the scroll Tsunade had given her. You can imagine Konoha's surprise when news of sighting of should-be-deceased Akatsuki members had reached the village. As it turned out, the organization had resurrected their dead members and gone into hiding to nurse their wounds, regain power, and plot. When news of Sasuke's win against Itachi arrived, Sakura and Naruto had expected Sasuke to return to Konoha. Unfortunately, Sasuke (along with his new team) seemed to vanish and weren't heard from for a long time.

It wasn't sure who all out of the dead Akatsuki had been revived, but sighting had included Deidara and Kakuzu. Nara members had patrolled the sight where Hidan was buried on a daily basis until they found the ground upturned one day, the pieces of the Jashinist's body missing.

Biting her thumb and spreading a bit of blood over the front of the scroll, Sakura unsealed the parchment and read. She went over the various sights where members had been spotted recently and chose the closest to where she was, but outside Fire Country borders. Resealing the scroll and stuffing it into her pack, Sakura sent one last glance in Konoha's direction, blew it a kiss, and turned North-West.

'_Hoshigaki Kisame and Deidara of the Akatsuki were both recently spotted in Kusagakure. Looks like I'm heading to Grass.'_

Jumping back into the trees, Sakura sped off, face set in determination.

"Akatsuki, hope your ready for Haruno Sakura."

**::**

_The sun's shining bright  
>I twinkle in your eye<br>If you know what's right  
>Pull a wish from the sky<br>Say "Nooo", I say "Ohhh"_

**::**

**notes: **Wow, that literally just _flowed _out while I was typing it. Well, I hope you guys like it so far. I hope to have the next chapter out soon. And the third chapter of _Fallen Leaves _will be out soon as well. I'm looking forward to this story, hope you guys are as well!

Reviews = Love = Happiness = Inspiration = Faster Updates = More Smiles

Create some smiles, people.

**~Thirrin73**


	2. Chapter One: My Bewilderment Vanishes

**notes: **HOW'S THAT FOR A SPEEDY UPDATE?

SO MANY SMILES! You guys really made my day, yesterday (and again today). Seriously, I felt the love. Thanks so much! I got to work on this chapter first thing this morning after waking up to an inbox with SO MUCH LOVE AND SMILES.

Thanks to all of you who reviewed: **itsreallynoneofyourbusiness**, **Saiyuri Haruno**, **angel897**, **StormDragon666**, **SerenaAngel1993**, **Ketsueki** **no** **Kuki**, **wingedmercury**, **Emma**, **Nikooru-sama**, **xSakuraWings**, **keraii**, **TheAttentionJustEncouragesHer**, **The** **Lady** **Avaritia**, **IKillatFirstsight**, **Yuti-Chan**, **me**, **nvr-knows-bst**, and **LittleFoxDemon**. And thanks to those of you who favorited, story alerted, or just read chapter one. And also thanks to those reviewers from today who's occasional alerts in my inbox got me writing faster.

And to anonymous reviewer **Emma**, if you're reading this, just wanted to say thanks for the review and I'm glad you're liking it so far!

Also, to anonymous reviewer **me**, if you're reading this, just wanted to thank you for the review as well!

*cries the tears of Youth* SO MUCH HAPPINESS.

Also, in regards to Pein: Pein will just be Pein. The whole Nagato-thing doesn't really go along with the story (and frankly, I liked Pein better when he was just a bad-ass man with wicked hair and multiple peircings) so I'm making Pein, Pein. I hope no one minds D: Oh, and I don't plan on putting the other Peins in this story, just assume they're tucked away in their little tubes in Ame, dreaming happy dreams of world domination :)

PEINSAKU IS SO HARD TO WRITE WHEN HE NEEDS TO KEEP HIS LEADER-LOOK AND DOESN'T SHOW EMOTION. So, expect some OOCness (for _everyone_). And PeinKonan-friendship. Unless you guys are up for a Pimptastic-Pein...Hmmm.

I'm done spazzing, on with the show!

Oh, and to **xSakuraWings**, I believe you requested a longer chapter. Hope this is long enough for you!

Enjoy!

**::**

_**Sugar Cube**_

_**-Chapter One-**_

_**My Bewilderment Vanishes**_

**::**

_I think about you  
>Can't dream without you<br>I always want more _

**::**

Sakura had finally crossed the Fire-Kusa border sometime after the sun had fully risen. She spent a day leaving false trails for any search parties and confusing dead ends to leave them astray. Eventually she stopped in a small town and asked around for any sightings regarding Akatsuki. Sakura learned that both Deidara and Kisame had been spotted in a few of the surrounding villages. After renting a room at a small inn, she rested, keeping her mind from straying back to Konoha.

The next morning, she woke to happy rays of sunshine filtering in through the window of her hotel room and caressing her face. She quickly dressed, checked out, and left the small town. She had skipped both lunch and dinner the day before in favor of scouting and leaving more false trails so her stomach was starting to get angry. She ignored the growls from her tummy and set her mind on searching for more Akatsuki sightings.

She headed towards the nearest village which happened to be the one both Deidara and Kisame had recently been spotted in. No one seemed to pay her any mind as she walked through the streets of the small village, her cloak billowing out behind her slightly. Emerald eyes darted from side to side, gaze traveling over the small buildings, stalls selling food and other various items, and peaceful people. She kept her hood pulled low over her head, just in case anyone happened to look her way and spot her distinguishable pink hair.

Once she had gotten more into the market-area of the village, Sakura's eyes weren't just looking for tell-tale signs of Akatsuki. With an added snarl from her stomach, the rosette sighed and veered left, eyes landing on a small tea shop.

'_I'll just stop for a moment to get a bite to eat then ask around. Maybe the two Akatsuki hadn't passed through _too_ long ago.' _Her tummy gave another growl as if to approve of this plan and then went silent. She sighed to herself, mentally rolling her eyes, and entered the shop. The overhanging streams of cloth just barely brushed the top of her hooded head, but she paid them no mind and, instead, mentally went over ideas of what she would do when she did, eventually, find an Akatsuki.

She glanced up slightly at the sound of loud conversation, one voice booming and enthusiastic and the other a softer tenor and slightly annoyed. She scanned the shop briefly, happily noting that it was crowded enough to get lost in. A older waitress spotted her, smiled warmly, and nodded to a small table towards the back of the shop. Sakura smiled back softly and made her way towards the indicated table. Glancing around, she suddenly froze, the heel of one foot just barely touching the floor as she noticed something.

_Of_ _course_, it was just her luck that the two men she was looking for happened to be dining in the tea shop she had decided to take a break in.

She mentally panicked, she hadn't expected to come across one of the Akatsuki for a few more days, possibly weeks. She was _entirely _unprepared for this. What was worse? The fact that she had found an Akatsuki without mentally or physically readying herself? Or that the fact that she'd found _both _of them.

Something inside her told her to stop clamming up and fucking sit down before they noticed her. Gulping slightly, Sakura stiffly trudged over to the table she had been heading for earlier. Her eyes darted over to the two men repeatedly, hoping against hope that they hadn't noticed her.

It didn't seem like it. The taller, Hoshigaki Kisame, was pointing a stick of dango at the blonde, Deidara, an amused grin spread across his blue face. Deidara was regarding Kisame with unveiled annoyance, a small cup of steaming tea cradled in his hands.

Sakura quickly sat down at her table, giving the motherly-looking waitress a unnoticeably fake-smile as the older woman bustled over to her, drying her hands with a small cloth.

"What can I get you, dear?"

Sakura smiled, eyes flicking over to the criminal pair when the woman looked away momentarily to tuck the cloth into her apron. "Jasmine tea, please? And an order of onigiri."

Slipping a stray strand of graying hair behind her ear, the waitress nodded to herself, giving Sakura another toothy smile.

"I'll get that right out, dear."

"Thank you."

The woman grinned once more then quickly shuffled away to the kitchen. Sakura inconspicuously pulled her hood lower, eyes traveling back to Kisame and Deidara, before leaning back in her chair slightly. She sent a bit of chakra to her ears to enhance her hearing and focused on what the two were saying, gaze moving away to look out the street.

"Come on Deidara-san. This place has the best dango. Itachi-san and I would always stop here when we pass through Kaisei. Relax a little and eat some dango." Kisame chided, his stick of dango inching closer and closer to the agitated blonde.

"Fuck no, un. I don't like this town. 'S too close to Fire Country, un." The x-Kiri nin flicked a glob of syrup at the bombist, who easily dodged and took a sip of his tea. "You know we're supposed to be laying low, un."

Kisame rolled his eyes and ate one of the dumplings off the stick. "Laying low doesn't really include blowing a fourth of a forest up, Deidara-san."

The blonde muttered something along the lines of, "Felt like someone was following us, un." and Kisame continued.

"Besides, we've got plenty of time before we report back to Leader-sama. Just chill, have some tea. Maybe hit the bar." Kisame leaned back in his chair, finishing the dumplings and downing his glass of tea.

Again, Deidara muttered angrily under his breath, rolling the half-full cup in his hands.

"Danna wouldn't have stopped for some stupid sake, un. We'd be halfway to Ame by now."

Kisame chuckled to himself, unperturbed, and gestured to a waitress. The shyly smiling younger girl hurried over and quickly scurried off to the kitchen for Kisame's requested second order of dango. Deidara sighed exasperatedly, hand traveling to the pouch at his hip to pull out a little clay to mold. Suddenly he sat up, eyes widening before narrowing in irritation.

Sakura froze in her seat, feeling his chakra flare for a split-second. She blinked worriedly, hand creeping towards her kunai pouch.

Deidara slapped a hand to his face and groaned aloud.

"_Fuck_, un. I'm turning into that impatient old coot." He sent Kisame a pitiful look while, in the background, Sakura put a hand to her chest to console her racing heart. "If I ever start agreeing with Danna on his views of art: kill me, un. Just kill me. Use Samehada and stab me in the head, un."

Kisame chuckled, waving one of the sticks at the distressed blonde. "Ah, ah. You _know _Samehada doesn't 'stab'." He gripped his blue chin in thought for a moment. "But we'll be happy to slice you to ribbons, if you're up to it."

Deidara nodded sullenly, head dropping to the table, and muttered obscenities entwined with the occasional _Danna_ and _un_ under his breath. Kisame's laugh boomed throughout the shop and a few patrons glanced over at the pair in curiosity. Sakura nearly jumped when the older waitress appeared, teapot, cup, and plate of onigiri perched on a small tray.

"Here you are, dear. Sorry for the wait." Sakura reluctantly turned her attention from the two to the woman, smile in place.

"It's quite alright. Thank you, ma'am." Grinning, the woman set the tea and food down, poured Sakura a glass, and hurried back to the kitchen. She muttered a soft, "Itadakimasu." under her breath and picked up one of the onigiri. Sakura took a bite of her onigiri, stomach growling in appreciation, and quickly ate the rest of it, realizing just how hungry she was. She took a sip of her tea, sighing in contentment, and glanced over at the Akatsuki duo.

Kisame had received his second plate of dango and Deidara had finally caved from the shark-man's pestering and was now munching on one of the dumplings. Picking up the second of the three onigiri, Sakura silently ate, watching the Akatsuki out of the corner of her eye. The two chatted idly until they seemed done with their break.

Placing a few notes and coins on the table, Kisame stood. Deidara downed the rest of the tea, eyes watering slightly as the still scalding liquid burned his tongue and the back of his throat. Kisame laughed and gave the blonde a hearty pat on the back. Deidara's eyes bulged a tad and he stumbled forward from the force of the friendly _pat_.

Sakura inwardly chuckled at the exchange, eyes traveling after the two as they traveled to the front of the shop. Kisame requested a doggy back for the remainder of the dango. She could just barely hear Kisame explain to Deidara that he was, "Bringing the last stick of dango for Itachi-san." _'So, Uchiha Itachi _has _been revived.' _The rosette watched them silently, sipping her tea.

Paper bag in hand, they left the shop. Sakura waited a few moments, finishing the last of her onigiri and tea, before standing. Leaving the money for the food and drink on the table, Sakura brushed past the other patrons of the shop and headed the way the Akatsuki had left. She sent the older waitress one last smile as she passed the woman and entered the street.

She estimated that it was only about seven o'clock, but the street was mostly deserted. She could easily make out the forms of Kisame and Deidara leaving the town, further down the road. She pulled her hood tighter down her head, paranoid that someone would notice her and her bright hair, and set down the street at a brisk pace.

Once she was out of the town, she continued to follow after the duo. She kept at a reasonable distance as they traveled down the road, heading south-west. For the first time since she had left Konoha, Sakura let her mind wonder to her friends. _'Have they realized that I've left yet? Did Naruto really go on that mission or did he notice I was missing and go to Tsunade? It's been almost two days. God, I miss everyone so much already.' _Sakura snapped back to reality when she realized that Kisame and Deidara were veering off the path and heading for the surrounding forest.

_'They're getting deeper into Kusa, but heading south.' _She bit her lower lip and entered the wood as well. _'Looks like they're heading to Ame.' _She thought back to what Deidara had mentioned back at the shop as she jumped into the treetops, following the silent duo.

**::**

**_November 13 - The day before, 6:00 AM_**

Gathered in the Hokage's office, the four shinobi waited patiently for Tsunade to finish speaking. Naruto shuffled from foot to foot, anxious to set out for their mission already. He chanced a glance at the nin to his left. Shikamaru looked as bored as always and Kiba seemed just as ready to get started as the blonde did. Neji, who had been appointed the team leader, look stoic as he regarded his Hokage with his normal icy expression. Naruto sighed and glanced out the window behind Tsunade. The sun was just beginning to rise and the thought of how early it was caused him to yawn.

At the sound of a canine-whine, Naruto glanced over to see Akamaru had caught his yawn. The dog's muzzle opened wide and his tongue curled slightly. Kiba reached down to scratch the nin-dog behind his ear and Akamaru's tail thumped appreciatively.

"Hey, Baa-chan," Naruto mumbled as Tsunade stopped talking for a moment to write something down on a scroll. The busty blonde's attention snapped up to him, honey-eyes narrowing in aggravation at the name he used to address her, and gestured for him to continue.

"Exactly how long is this mission going to last, 'ttebayo?"

Neji sighed, giving Naruto an exasperated sidelong look.

"If you had been paying attention, Uzumaki, you would have heard Hokage-sama say that the mission could take at least two weeks." Kiba sent a toothy grin at Naruto as the blonde glared at the Hyuuga. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck, wishing he could be excused from the mission so he could go watch the clouds change color with the rising sun. Then maybe spend a few more hours watching the clouds some more. And then maybe take a nap. Snorting in annoyance, Tsunade finished writing in the scroll, rolled it up, sealed it, and handed it to Neji.

"Meet at the gates in ten minutes then head for Wave. You're mission begins the moment you four step out the village gates." Tsunade ordered shortly, pulling a stack of papers to sign over in front of herself.

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!"

"Man, what a drag. Hai, Lady Hokage."

"Hai Baa-chan, 'ttebayo!"

She audibly growled, but let the blonde leave without a bump on his head. They headed for the door, Kiba and Naruto chatting animatedly, Neji already out the door and Shikamaru behind the two. Akamaru trotted next to Kiba and the brunette reached down to pat the large canine's head.

"Hey, maybe I'll catch Sakura-chan or Hinata-chan on the way to the gates! I'd hate to leave without saying goodbye, 'ttebayo."

As Shikamaru closed the door behind him, he wondered why he saw worry, sadness, and the briefest flash of pain appear in Tsunade's eyes.

**::**

The four met at the gates a few minutes later after packing. Naruto pestered Neji for the scroll with the mission-info for a few moments until the Hyuuga finally snapped and questioned the blonde as to, "Why the hell hadn't you been paying attention when Hokage-sama was explaining the mission in her office, you idiot."

Naruto's nervous laugh was interrupted by a small pop and a cloud of smoke.

A surprised Kakashi regarded the four for a moment before the corner of his eye crinkled as he smiled. "Heading out for a mission, boys?" He asked, hand combing through his silver-locks.

"Yo! Kakashi-sensei! Yeah, 'll be gone for a while." Naruto exclaimed happily before his eyebrows furrowed in a confused pout. "What were you up to, Sensei? It's pretty early."

Kakashi laughed, waving his gloved hand offhandedly. "Oh, just delivering something for Tsunade-sama."

Naruto grinned, nodding in understanding. The other three greeted the Copy Nin and headed out the gates. At the last minute, Naruto turned around, sending Kakashi a wave.

"Tell Sakura-chan I said hi when you see her! And that I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye in person, but you know. Duty calls." The blonde quickly spun back around and hurried after Neji and Kiba.

Shikamaru, who had gotten lost in thought while watching the clouds overhead, seemed to notice that his team was leaving. He turned and followed after them at his own pace, inwardly wondering why Hatake Kakashi had looked so miserable.

The four walked along a path for a few minutes before taking to the trees and heading south-east.

Just outside the gate, Kiba paused, a curious Akamaru at his side. With his keen nose, he could smell a familiar scent heading out of the village. He vaguely heard Naruto shout his name to catch his attention and hurry up. Shrugging to himself, he sent an idle pat to his companion and followed after Neji and Naruto, Shikamaru joining him from behind.

At the back of his mind, the Inuzuka idly wondered why Haruno Sakura had been leaving the village.

**::**

**_November 14 - Present day, 9:45 AM _**

One of the first things Sakura realized as she trailed after the two nin, was that all feelings of contempt and hate were going to have to be wiped clean from her persona. She sighed, knowing that she was going to have to approach the Akatsuki with an open mind and, here she inwardly shivered, an open heart. Murderous intentions and enraged attitudes would certainly not do in a house full of equally insane ninja. Best to put on a sweet face and take a hold on her temper.

Also, she'd have to decide if she was going to appear to them or wait until they decided to confront their little stalker.

Oh, yes. Sakura was well aware that the Akatsuki she was following _knew that she was following them_. Of course, she doubted that they knew _exactly _who was trailing after them so inconspicuously. But she was quite certain that they were aware of her presence and were patiently waiting for her to show herself.

Well, maybe not _patiently_. Deidara's stance was stiff and he was furiously molding a bit of clay in his hand. She could spot Kisame's hand twitch occasionally, muscles just itching to grip his beloved sword as they jumped from branch to branch.

Or maybe they were just getting ready to attack.

Whatever the case, Sakura didn't plan on making herself fully known for a few more minutes.

Or hours.

Whichever gave her more time to think of how she was going to approach them. Sakura couldn't just walk up to the two, cock her hip, idly salute, and say, "Yo! How'd you Akatsuki guys like to have a badass pink-haired medic with insane strength on your team?"

_'Oh _yeah_._' Sakura thought to herself. _'I can _totally _see that working out in my favor.'_

**_'Enough with the sarcasm, darling. It doesn't suit you.' _**

She nearly lost her footing as she blanched, eyes wide and lips parted slightly.

_'The hell? _You're _back? I thought I got rid of you back at the Chuunin Exams!' _Sakura mentally exclaimed, referring to when she had pushed Ino out of her mind and gained so much confidence.

**_'Honey, I never _left_. I've just been laying low and enjoying the show. Up till now, at least.'_**

Sakura mentally fumbled for some sort of intelligent reply, hands gripping the straps of her bag even tighter.

**_'Pay attention, love. Blondie's about to snap like a twig in a tornado.'_**

The rosette's attention immediately snapped to the two who were, indeed, slowing down. She matched their speed and stopped just as they did. She perched herself on a sturdy branch, a decent distance from the two. She sent a quick glance skyward, checking the sun's position. It looked like, sometime during her distracted musings, they had altered their path and had started heading more eastward.

_'Were they really heading direction? Or had they changed routes in case I was following them to find one of their bases; to lead me astray and confuse me?' _Realizing that now (about to be confronted by two very powerful shinobi that would kill her without even batting an eye) was _really _not the time to be analyzing. Kisame and Deidara turned; the latter's cerulean eyes darting from tree to tree in suspicion and annoyance.

"No point in hiding any long, un!" The blonde shouted, "We know you're there so just show yourself!"

_'Hiding? Guess they can't see me through these trees.'_

**_'It's now or never, dollface. Though, I do suppose you can wonder around for a few more weeks; hoping that you'll be lucky enough to come across another Akatsuki. That is, as long as these two don't kill you first.' _**

Sakura mentally frowned, already making her decision, and darted forward. She landed lightly on a branch closer to the two. She had been planning on revealing her identity after she was sure they weren't going to kill her, but it seemed like Mother Nature had other plans for the rosette. As she was briefly airborne, a slightly powerful gust of wind blew into her face, knocking her hood back and sending her shoulder-length pink locks fluttering around her head. She mentally cursed, knowing that there was no point in hiding who she was now.

**_'Calm down, honey. It's not like they weren't going to guess who you were the moment you punched a cavern in the ground.'_**

Surprisingly, her Inner's words consoled her enough to look confident as she faced the two Akatsuki.

Deidara's brows furrowed slightly while they regarded her curiously.

"Hey, un. Don't I know you from somewhere?"

Sakura mentally rolled her eyes. Honestly, how many green-eyed, pink-haired kunoichi _were _there?

"Aren't you that kunoichi from Leaf? Haruno, right?" Kisame asked, a single dark-blue eyebrow rising in question. His lips quirked into a grin, pointed teeth looking positively cunning. "What are ya doing so far from home, kunoichi?"

Deidara smirked, his hand snaking into his clay-pouch, and eyes shining with realization. "That's right, now I remember. You're that inhumanly strong chick that helped kill off Danna."

Kisame seemed to notice something as he watched her. "Looks like your hitai-ate's got a little scratch on it." Deidara seemed to perk up at this and the shark man continued. "Haven't betrayed your village, now have you kunoichi?"

**_'Come on, girl. Don't let them do all the talking.'_**

"Yes, I'm from Leaf." She started, hand on hip and tone bored, " Haruno Sakura, actually, Hoshigaki-san. Why am I so far from home? Why, I was looking for you two!" They seemed shocked, much to the rosette's delight. "Yes, I did aid in that insane puppet's ass-whooping." She sent Deidara a sickly sweet smile here. "And I'll take that 'inhumanly strong chick'-comment as a compliment."

She inwardly took a calming breath, innocent and disarming smile in place.

"And, yes, I _have _defected from Konoha."

Unfortunately, Deidara didn't seem too convinced.

"I find that hard to believe, un. Kunoichi as loyal as you don't just dissert their village for no reason."

_'Time to play the badass card.'_

She sent a glare at the blonde, hand reaching up to finger her scarred hitai-ate. "They didn't take me seriously back in Leaf. 'Oh! Let's fuck with the little pink-haired girls head and make her think she's important and powerful but don't trust her with a simple A-rank assassination mission! And why don't we talk about how weak and useless she is when her back is turned?' I got fed up with being looked down on when I _knew_ I could level the entire village with a single punch, heal the bastards back to perfect health, then fucking punch their heads off." To her inner horror, much of what she was saying didn't feel like a lie. Though, it did feel good to vent a little.

_'Hmmm. Maybe I should take some of this pent up anger out on a few trees when I get the chance.'_ She added a mental apology to Tsunade and the rest of her friends back home for talking shit about Konoha.

Deidara grinned, enjoying the spitfire's _explosive _attitude. _'She's kinda hot, un. At least Danna was taken out by a beauty with some really artistic qualities.'_ The blonde thought, reminiscing back to the sight of the destroyed cave. That shit had been _awesome_.

Kisame's grin seemed slightly approving as he cocked his massive sword on his shoulder. But he couldn't let the kunoichi feel too good about herself just yet. They didn't know exactly what she wanted, after all.

"And I suppose you're here to fight? Test your strength against a pair of big bad S-class nin?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, shifting her weight to her other leg.

"Actually, I came to ask if you guys are looking for any news recruits. Besides packing a nasty right hook, I'm a top notch medic, you know. I'm sure an organization like the Akatsuki, always getting limbs blown off and eyes rotting and such, could use a medic that actually knows what she's doing and is damn good at it."

Deidara grinned. Though, he had to admit, he hadn't seen the job request coming. Kisame seemed just as surprised yet delighted with the idea.

A delighted Hoshigaki Kisame was a sight to behold, Sakura noted, a slight shiver shooting up her spine.

"Hope you aren't looking at the Akatsuki as an easy way to gain some respect (however fear-induced), kunoichi. We don't take lightly to idiots thinking they can just waltz right up, expect us to let them fill out a form, and give them a call if they meet our credentials." Kisame said, searching for any sign of fear or lie in the girls eyes.

Sakura smiled sweetly.

"Of course not. I'm just looking for a place to kick ass and not get sent to isolation every time I demolish a building accidentally. A place to fit in, you know?" She planted both fists on her hips and grinned wickedly. "Besides, I know I'll have to 'prove my worth' and take one of you down to show I'm serious. So," She said, emerald eyes twinkling. "Who's getting decked first?"

Deidara laughed, enjoying this exchange with this interesting, albeit strange, kunoichi. Kisame seemed slightly impressed.

"You aren't just hiding behind that bad-girl bravado to prove a point, now are you kunoichi?" He questioned curiously.

"Depends," Sakura sniffed, brushing a stray leaf off her shoulder. She gazed up at the blue-skinned man under her lashes. "Are you just compensating for something by caring around that huge sword?" She paused, straightening and grinning. "Hammerhead."

Kisame joined Deidara in his humorous chortling, his slightly more booming laugh echoing in the forest. Oh _yes. _He _liked_ this girl. It was one thing to stand your ground in a fight against an Akatsuki member, which this little slip of a flower had already done. But it was positively _riveting_ to engage in playful banter with someone who wasn't _too_ intimidated by the uniform and what it meant.

The blonde seemed to compose himself first and he turned to Sakura, an excited (and slightly maniac) grin spreading across his face.

"Ok, Pinky, you've got us interested." His expression turned mock serious, "But you were right about having to fight one of us to prove you've got enough skill and power to join."

Sakura was positively radiant. This was going _much _better than she had imagined. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her fingerless gloves, slipping them over her hands and tugging them securely in place. The rosette sent the two an innocent look. "So, who's getting their ass-whooped today?"

Grinning, Kisame stepped forward. "I'm game, kunoichi. I'd like to see what you've got, first hand."

Sakura smiled but then looked around. She turned back to the two, head tilted to the side. "Would you rather have our fight with all these trees around? Or would you rather I cleared us a little space?"

The shark-man chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "Nah. There's a clearing nearby. We can battle there."

Smile in place, she nodded and jumped to their branch, following the two to a small meadow. Deidara seemed slightly dejected; disappointed that it wasn't _him_ fighting Sakura. They landed gracefully in the clearing, Sakura and Kisame taking opposite ends with Deidara off to the side of the middle to referee. Kisame removed Samehada from his shoulder and stretched for a moment, basking in the warm rays of the sun.

Sakura rolled her shoulders, sighing in contentment when her back popped. She tapped each heel against the ground a few times to warm her legs up, leaving small dents in the ground. She stepped out of the shallow hole she had created and removed her cloak and pack, tossing them to the side.

"Try not to break my face now, kitten." Kisame called from across the clearing. Sakura sent him an innocent look.

"Now, why would I do that, Kisame-san?" They shared a laugh and Sakura unstrapped the medium-sized scroll from her pack, fingers traveling over the cherry blossom print of the seal and binding lovingly. She looked up at Kisame, nipping her thumb and preparing to unseal the scroll.

"I hope you don't mind if I use a favorite toy of mine, Hammerhead. It's been a while since I last played with it, but I'm pretty sure I can hold my own against your Samehada long enough to knock you on your ass." She asked, emotions running rampant at the thought of using her group birthday present from Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, and Yamato. It still hurt to think about them, but she liked to feel that she wasn't entirely disserting them by using their gift.

"Knock yourself out, kitten. We'll try not to slice you up too bad." He answered, patting the broad of his sword affectionately.

Sakura smiled appreciatively and dragged her bloodied thumb across the seal of the scroll. There was a loud pop and smoke flooded the area around the rosette. When there smoke cleared, there stood Sakura, a massive axe resting on her shoulder. The sharp edge of the axe was a crimson-red, as well as the wrapping on the handle and rest of the staff. Two small circles were cut out towards the bottom of the blade, straps connecting to brown pads that cushioned her shoulders wrapping through holes. A third hole towards the top also housed a strap, at the end of which started a long chain. Part of the chain was wrapped around Sakura's hand and wrist then continued to connect to a ring protruding from the bottom of the handle.

The silvery broad of the axe glinted mischievously and the matching chain glistened happily. Sakura smirked impishly and tossed a few loose strands of her hair out of her sparkling emerald eyes.

"Now, where were we?"

Both Kisame and Deidara stared at her for a few moments, attempting to pick their jaws up off the ground. She waited patiently for the two to compose themselves, tapping a slim finger on the handle of her beloved weapon. The two Akatsuki exchanged glances, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, _fuck_ yeah, un."

**::**

_Trance to the dance tune  
>Under a full moon<br>And a reason to..._

**::**

**notes: **I was typing this all day, getting continuously distracted by my dog and emails, BUT I WAS DETERMINED TO GET THIS POSTED TODAY. And today I posted. Hope that was long enough for you guys!

The confrontation scene with Sakura, Deidara, and Kisame was _shit._ Up until Sakura got awesome, that is.

Yes, in case you guys didn't catch that, Sakura left on November 13 to start her mission. I'll be occasionally adding dates at the beginning of time skips and flashback-esque moments.

And yes, I brought Inner in. I love her and I love _writing _her. Come on, show of hands, who all missed her after her final appearance in the Chuunin Exams?

Oh, and _fuck yeah_. Sakura's being badass and has her _mega-awesome axe_ that we've all been hoping forever for Kishimoto to finally let Sakura have.

Hope you guys like it!

Reviews = Love = Happiness = Inspiration = Faster Updates = More Smiles

Create some smiles, people.

**~Thirrin73**


	3. Chapter Two: You Unexpectedly Smile

**notes: **The river of love is overflowing, but I don't have the heart to dam it up.

Oh, _yeah_. I just got _metaphorical_.

But seriously. You guys will never know how much I loved and appreciated your reviews. I've never felt so loved and full of purpose _in my life._ Ever. I told my sister how happy I was and how loved I felt and then I STARTED CRYING. The Tears of Youth have returned to me! So, after spending a day to reply to all your reviews, I got started on the next installment of _**Sugar Cube**_!

And here we are.

Now, let me take a moment to THANK ALL YOU AWESOME REVIEWERS: **wingedmercury**, **Ketsueki** **no** **Kuki**, **StormDragon666**, **Mo-mo**, **keraii**, **bloodsucker232**, **LittleFoxDemon**, **IKillatFirstsight**, **Nikooru-sama**, **delilah-smurple**, **xSakuraWings**, **The** **Lady** **Avaritia**, **RoseCallisto, i m f a d i n g a w a y**, **10tealeaf**, **Saku-Chan.x**, **Yuti-Chan**, **Black** **snake** **eyes**, **Saiyuri** **Haruno**, **Akatsuki's** **a** **bang**, **xXFallenxBeautyxX**, **Emma**, **firehottie**, **YoH** **KiRi**, **Dimond** **frog**, **Danny** **Bunny**, **Cherryjubilee**, **alyssaangel15**, and **SerenaAngel1993**. And thanks to those of you who favorited, story alerted, or just read chapter one.

And, please excuse me while I reply to a few anonymous reviewers here.

To **Mo-mo**: If you're reading this, just wanted to thank you for the review and say I'm glad you liked it so far! Don't worry, Sakura's badassery tones down a bit in this chapter. Thanks again!

To **Emma**: If you're reading this, just wanted to say hi, again! Thanks for the review! And I'm glad to give you acknowledgement! Glad you like everything so far. Ah, yes, PeinSaku, I hope I can write it well enough! Yep, things are going a bit fast, but they'll be slowing down slightly in this chapter. I hope everything turns out as well as I want it to! Thanks again!

To **Dimond frog**: If you're reading this, thanks for the review! I'm glad you're liking it so far! Here's your update!

To **Cherryjubilee**: If you're reading this, thank for the wonderful review! Aw, I feel honored to have my story compared to one as wonderful as that :) Plenty of axe-action ahead!

My mother finally let me use her laptop to type on, so now I can write while she's on the other computer! WHICH MEANS POSSIBLE FASTER UPDATES.

Aslo, _Chiisai_ mean _Tiny_. Remember that, it could come in handy *cough the second sentence of this chapter cough*

For the fight scene in this chapter, I have to give my thanks to Blowsight for their badass music and awesome remixes of awesome songs (which included _Poker Face_, _SheDevil_, _Toxic_, and _The Simple Art (Of Making You Mine)_). And thanks to Breaking Benjamin for_ I Will Not Bow _which I also listened to for the fight. As well as _Animal I Have Become _by Three Days Grace and _Monster _by Skillet. They really put me in the mood for Kisame and Sakura's battle :)

EXTRA LONG CHAPTER AHEAD.

On to chapter two~!

Enjoy!

**::**

_**Sugar Cube**_

_**-Chapter Two-**_

_**You Unexpectedly Smile**_

**::**

_I think you know  
>Tonight, tonight<br>I'm gonna touch you, taste you, tease you, show you  
>What I've been waiting for<em>

**::**

In all actuality, an axe was probably the most unreasonable weapon a ninja could possess. _Especially _an oversized one such as Sakura's beloved 'toy' (which she had affectionately dubbed Chiisai). Unless the nin had incredible physical strength or used chakra to help lift said huge axe (as Sakura did), it would be nearly impossible to wield the weapon accurately enough to take down an enemy.

Of course, the male members of Team Kakashi had thought through Sakura's eighteenth-birthday present thoroughly and had gotten her the _perfect _gift.

Naruto had pointed out that Sakura's hair color was already unreasonable for a ninja so, "Why not go all out and have a weapon that no other self-preserving ninja (that didn't want to be caught on a stealth mission) would have, Sakura-chan? Dattebayo."

Then Sai had made a point to note that the fact that such a petite young woman wielding such a large axe was something that complimented her other contradicting qualities: her inhuman and almost _barbaric_ strength and expert gentle healing. Then added, "Ugly and scary suits you, Hag" as an afterthought.

Yamato had claimed that, normally, when someone first laid eyes on the rosette, they immediately dismissed her as, "The smallest threat and that carrying around such an intimidating weapon would be sure to have potential enemies rethinking their impression of Sakura-chan."

Kakashi had said that she looked, "Utterly adorable and absolutely _enthralling_ with the massive axe resting on your shoulder, Sakura-chan."

He had then gone back to reading his porn, giggling under his breath.

After everyone had regarded the Copy Nin with varying degrees of disgust, shock, and horror, they turned back to Sakura with happy smiles and well wishes for her birthday.

Sakura had then decked each of the men for their (unintentionally) insulting comments.

But then, after looking her new present over with an increasingly approving eye, growing more and more fond of the weapon, she'd healed their injuries and given them each a peck on the cheek, smiling radiantly.

Sakura shook her head to clear her head of these memories. It was getting easier to think of her teammates and friends without her heart clenching, but she really needed to keep her head in the game.

Kisame seemed to have composed himself and was now regarding the rosette with a slightly more impressed expression. "Haf'ta admit, kitten, I honestly wasn't expecting that."

Sakura smiled and giggled under her breath. Who knew that two of the most dangerous missing nin in the world were so easy to talk to and almost _pleasant _to be around? Her expression turned slightly more serious as she gazed across the clearing at Kisame.

"You ready, Hammerhead?"

He replied with a toothy grin.

"Sure am, kitten. I'll let you have the first move."

Sakura smirked, chakra flooding into her unoccupied hand. _'And that's your first mistake.' _Rearing her fist back, Sakura assaulted the meadow floor with a ground shattering punch. Immediately, the earth before her cracked and crumbled; large chunks exploding and jutting up at odd angles while a cloud of dust flew up. A cavernous crack formed and sped towards Kisame in a split second, more pieces of rubble escaping and scattering.

He was forced to jump up and away from the destruction, eyes losing Sakura in the flurry of rock, dust, dirt, and grass. He was airborne for a few moments, Samehada gripped in both hands and eyes darting through the almost impenetrable curtain of debris. He felt a whisper of a breath at the back of his neck and narrowly blocked the swing of Sakura's axe with his sword as she appeared behind him, one leg tucked up close to her body as they both seemed to float in the air momentarily.

Sakura's grin faltered for a second as she felt the tug of Samehada sucking her chakra from Chiisai.

Kisame's smirk, however, grew as Samehada ate away at the chakra coursing through the axe. _'So that's how she's able to wield such a large weapon.' _He was momentarily surprised to find the pull of chakra suddenly stop as the chakra directly around where the axe and sword met was cut off. _'She's got amazing chakra control to be able pinpoint exactly where the pull is and keep her chakra away from the spot.'_

The entire exchange of sword blocking axe lasted only a few seconds and the two were instantly pushing away from each other, still airborne. Sakura gripped the chain of her axe and gave a ferocious tug, sending the blade of the weapon slicing through the air at Kisame again with a powerful, "Cha!" Pulling an aerial backwards-summersault, he avoided her attack, using his momentum to give a tremendous swing with his sword once he was right side up again.

Sakura blocked, anticipating exactly where the two weapons would meet and cutting the chakra flow around that area. She grimaced. It would be in her best interest to not let Samehada touch her bare skin. Tugging on the chain again, she pulled Chiisai away from the massive sword, catching the red-wrapped handle in her hand.

The two fell back to earth, landing amongst the upturned ground. The moment their feet touched solid floor, they were running at each other again; swinging, slicing, blocking, and occasionally kicking at their opponent.

Off to the side, Deidara watched in rapt attention. When the ground had exploded from the punch of the tiny kunoichi, it had been just _beautiful_. The flying debris had reminded him much of his own artwork and had left the blonde wondering if Sakura would like to watch him create his art sometime after this. He had managed to track the rosette through the cloud of dust; watching as she darted toward the slightly bewildered Kisame at an almost _impossible _speed considering the extra weight her weapon should have dragged her down with. She jumped and appeared behind Kisame, swinging her axe at the blue-nin. Using his scope, Deidara had watched the change in emotions in the two's faces as their weapons met, and instantly wondered what was going through their heads.

He inwardly smirked. So this kunoichi had trouble taking reign of her emotions as well.

Spinning her axe around her body to rest the hooked end of the axe on the back of her shoulder momentarily, Sakura sent a chakra laden punch at Kisame, fist slighlty glowing blue. She grinned victoriously as her fist met his stomach. Kisame's eyes bulged slightly as the wind was knocked from his lungs. He was sent flying from the force of the punch. The x-Kiri nin smashed through trees as his body flew through the air of the clearing to the edge of the forest.

Deidara blinked in surprise. But he really shouldn't have been so shocked after seeing one of her punches turn the meadow floor into a delightfully disastrous domain of destruction.

He grinned at the thought, eyes regretfully darting from the grinning rosette to the path of fallen trees Kisame had created.

Sakura patiently waited for Kisame to appear. She wasn't sure if that punch had been enough to knock him out or at least injure him enough to end the fight. Tensed for whatever would happen next, Sakura's eyes darted from destroyed tree to destroyed tree.

Suddenly, she heard the rumbling sound of rushing water and barely managed to leap upward to avoid a rapidly approaching jet of water, the front of which was suspiciously forming the face of a dragon. The water curved and followed her upward, forcing Sakura to finally notice Kisame riding on the water-dragon's head. He grinned once he was face to face with her and swung Samehada, his cloak billowing out behind him.

She mentally cursed, barely left with enough time to bring Chiisai around to block the attack. Fortunately, she managed to spot Kisame wince as he fully extended his arm to swing at her. _'At least I did some damage to his torso. All I need is a clean shot to his head.'_

Sakura's hand darted down to her thigh-pouch and quickly slipped out a kunai. She sent the knife at Kisame, who swiftly dodge, pulling his sword back slightly. Forced to use the sword as leverage, Sakura kicked off Samehada to backflip through the air. She felt the immediate drain on her chakra and cursed aloud.

Kisame grinned, throwing a shuriken of his own at the airborne rosette. She quickly caught the sharp star and sent it back at him, adding enough chakra to burn through the neck of the water-dragon and dispel the jutsu. Wrapping a bit of the chain around her wrist, Sakura frowned and took stock of her remaining chakra.

She cursed, wishing she was a freaking chakra _well_ like Naruto when she realized that she if she got hit by her opponent's chakra-draining sword more than two more times, she'd be finished. She quickly formed a few plans, going over possible scenarios in her head as she landed on the ground in a crouch.

Kisame landed a small distance away from her and immediately darted towards her tense form. He swung Samehada and she blocked with Chiisai, tossing another kunai at him. The knife sliced through his stomach, revealing that it had been a water clone. She cursed, but it was too late to block Samehada as the sword swung towards her, Kisame appearing behind her. Sakura grunted in pain as the sword hit her in the side, slicing some of her skin and sending her flying a distance away. She landed on her feet clumsily, wincing slightly, and green-glowing hand darting to her side to heal. Kisame came at her again and she swiftly dodged. A new plan had formed in her head. Darting to the left, Sakura raced towards the forest, leading him into the trees. He kept pace with her, running alongside the rosette and sending occasional swings, jabs, and kicks at her. She blocked each and passed through the tree-line.

Deidara raced after the two, quickly creating a clay bird which expanded at his shout of, "Kai!" and hopped onto the back of his creation. Darting into the sky, the blonde's eyes followed the two through the forest, the slightly barren branches giving him a good enough view.

Fortunately, the trees were spaced widely in the Kusa forests and Sakura managed to dart through the spaces provided without Chiisai chipping the trunks _too_ badly. Kisame followed after her and sent a few kunai at her when she turned, the front of his cloak opening slightly as a stray branch snagged the cloth. She back-flipped away, hands going through a flurry of motions in the split second her back was facing him. Pacing himself just right, the blue-skinned man swiped his sword at her the moment her feet touched back on the ground. There was a familiar pop and Sakura disappeared in a cloud of smoke, her kage bunshin destroyed. Blue eyebrows rising, Kisame's eyes darted around the forest, searching for the kunoichi.

"Where'd ya go, kitten?" He called, kunai in one hand and sword in the other. The surrounding area was silent as he waited, expression calm.

He heard a twig snap to his right and sent the kunai speeding in that direction, another kunai already in hand when he didn't hear the sound of metal piercing flesh or shadow clone dispersing.

"Behind you, Hammerhead!"

He spun around, Samehada flying up to block her axe's swing as she flew through the air towards him, weapon aimed at his head. He quickly sent a sweeping kick up at her side, ginning when his leg met flesh.

His grin vanished when the rosette exploded into a cloud of smoke once more, signaling that it had been another bunshin. Hair on the back of his neck rising, his attention swiveled to the left, another Sakura appearing through the trees. He sent a kunai at the clone (which promptly dispelled) and spinning to throw a shuriken at another clone behind him, inwardly wondering where she would appear next.

His eyes widened, however, at the sound of metal meeting flesh and was shocked to see the most recently appeared Sakura still flying toward him, emerald eyes flashing and axe ready to swing. _'Shit! It was the real her!'_

Sakura was pleasantly surprised when her plan worked, just like it had back in the Chuunin exams. The only change was replacing substitutions with kage bunshins. Her shadow clones were so perfectly constructed, there was no way to tell the difference between a clone and the real her until the last moment. And by then it was too late.

'_That's mistake number two, Hammerhead.'_

She ignored the shuriken imbedded in her shoulder and swung Chiisai at her opponent. Kisame managed to jump backwards at the last moment, but, with an added chakra boost, the edge of the axe sliced a long cut in his chest. He cursed, sending another kunai to distract her, and then swung Samehada.

Sakura dodged and blocked, darting backwards. She quickly jumped into the overhead branches and went deeper into the forest. Chest heaving, she ripped the shuriken out of her shoulder and covered the wound with a green-glowing hand. The cut healed quickly and Sakura quickly spun to intercept Kisame's attack. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed Deidara atop a clay bird, hovering in the sky above them to watch the fight.

Her gaze quickly snapped back to Kisame as he swung Samehada downwards, shattering the branch she had been standing on a moment after she jumped out the way. A few stray peices of wood sliced the skin of her face, arms, and legs, but she ignored the shallow cuts in favor of twisting away. _'Either he's getting faster or I'm getting slower. Shit, this needs to end soon.' _Mentally formulating the next step in her battle-plan, Sakura threw a flurry of senbon at Kisame.

Her hand darted down to her medical pack at her hip while he was distracted and popped a soldier pill into her mouth. She crunched down on the tasteless pebble, feeling slightly refreshed and refocused. It wasn't much, but it would keep her going until she made her final move.

She gathered some chain in her hand where the it connected with the blade of her axe, wrapping some of the cool metal around her wrist. She tugged down sharply when Kisame neared, slicing through the air towards him. A large amount of the chain dangled down and he saw his chance.

He blocked Chiisai's advance with Samehada once more and his hand darted out to grab the exposed chain, intent on using his leverage to pull Sakura closer to him and incapacitate her or rip the axe from her hold.

His large blue hand wrapped around the chain securely and Sakura smirked, the bait taken.

Chakra coursed through the chain and Sakura flicked her hand to wrap the chain around his wrist a few times, the cool metal hugging his arm snuggly. Kisame's face morphed into surprise and slight horror when she gave a vicious tug to the chain, pulling him to her instantly.

'_And that's three. Sorry, blue. You're out.'_

Time seemed to slow somewhat as Kisame's face neared hers. Her eyes flashed like an emerald fire as she pulled her free arm back, chakra seeping into every pore and vein as raw power engulfed her fist with a sapphire hue.

"SHANNARO!"

At her battle-cry, Sakura sent her fist flying forward. It connected with Kisame's shocked face with a sickening crunch. His hand had fallen slack and, with a flick of her wrist, the chain slipped off his arm at the last moment possible. He went flying through the air for the second time by one of Sakura's monstrous punches and crashed through numerous trees. It was obvious to Kisame that this punch had been more powerful than the previous as he soared through the air.

He finally landed back in the clearing, creating a deep rut in the already destroyed ground as his back met the floor. He finally stopped his forced journey, landing in a heap of limb and rubble. He attempted to sit up in his throne of rock, but fell back with a grunt. Kisame had thought he'd win for sure when he'd found the small stream in the forest after Sakura's first punch. With an active water source, he could create enough water jutsu to wash her aground. Unfortunately, when the kunoichi had lead him back into the forest she'd taken him in the opposite direction of the stream.

Now, as he lay in the rubble, he felt as if a good number of his bones were shattered. It didn't help that one of his eyes were swelling over and leaving him partially blind.

Sakura silently stepped out of the forest, a victorious smile in place. She approached the stationary blue-nin, axe resting on her shoulder and hand planted on her hip. She tilted her head to the side slightly, waiting to see if Kisame would get up and attempt to continue the fight. He sent her a pained grin, head dropping to his chest in a half nod.

"Alright, kitten." He started, wincing as his jaw ached. "I give. You win."

Sakura beamed, but then her expression quickly morphed into worry as she took in his disheveled appearance. His nose looked broken and a bruise was blossoming over most of his face. His arm was resting at an odd angle and the cut across his chest was seeping blood. Her face softened and she slipped into Medic Mode, rushing to his side and tugging her gloves off. Her hands glowed green as they immediately darted to his chest. The gash wasn't too deep, but it was bleeding enough to make her worry. She moved the front of his open cloak aside and pushed his shirt up to get the cloth out of the wound.

"Guess I got a little carried away, huh Hammerhead." She asked softly as her chakra sped up the blood clotting process and began knitting the skin of his chest back together. Kisame chuckled, but his chortle turned into a choked cough, a small trickle of blood trailing out of the corner of his mouth. She smiled apologetically and immediately moved her hands to his face when his chest was fully healed; a slim line a slightly lighter shade of blue which would soon disappear the only sign of his injury.

He sighed in contentment as her cool chakra numbed pain in his face. She soothed the bruise away and moved his nose back into place with a contrite grimace. When she was done healing his head, she moved her attention onto his arm. Sending a net of chakra through his system, she scanned him for any other injuries and quickly healed those she found.

"'Thought I asked you to _not _break my face, kitten." He muttered, a cheeky smirk in place.

"Sorry about that, blue." She murmured, helping him lean forward so she could heal his back. She winced slightly as she stretched; her side was still sore from when Kisame had slammed Samehada into her. Speaking of which, Sakura glanced to her left to spot the sword lying almost innocently atop the rubble.

"'S alright, kitten." He sent her a toothy grin and sat up when she was done healing his back. "I'd go through it all again if it meant getting the best healing-session of my life one more time."

She laughed, lips quirking in a smile as she affectionately punched his shoulder. She quickly apologized when he winced, but he waved it off with a grin. Deidara, who had landed and blown his bird up some time ago, approached the two, an amused smirk in place.

"That was fucking _beautiful_, un." He glanced over at Kisame, an eyebrow raised, and inclined his head towards Sakura. "So, doc. What's the verdict, un? Big guy gonna live?"

Sakura straightened in her kneeling position and sent Deidara a serious look.

"It's terminal."

After a moment they all burst out laughing and Sakura stood, holding a hand out for her fully healed patient, a bemused smile quirking her lips. He gladly accepted her offer and reached out for her hand, inwardly marveling as his much larger hand engulfed her tiny one. She pulled him to his feet, inwardly noting that training with Chiisai had greatly helped improve her physical strength.

"Well, Hoshigaki-san," She started, slipping into Medic Mode once more. "It's in my professional medical opinion that you've successfully recovered and are fully healed. But, I'm suggesting you get plenty of rest to regain any strength you lost."

Kisame grinned, chuckling to himself, and nodded; turning to retrieve Samehada. Sakura went to pick up her axe where she'd left it and gathered a bit of chakra into her other hand, frowning at how much her reserves had dropped. She made a few hand signs and held the weapon up. Reaching out, she plucked the end of the scroll out of thin air and proceeded to wrap it around Chiisai, resealing the axe in the scroll. There was a small pop and a puff of smoke as the weapon disappeared inside the scroll and Sakura turned back to the two Akatsuki who were regarding her with identical impressed expressions. Deidara grinned, crossing his arms and shaking his head slightly.

"You just keep getting more and more interesting, un."

Smiling to herself, Sakura turned and went back to where she had left her cloak and pack, grateful that they'd managed to stay out of the path of destruction. Possessions in hand, she strapped the scroll to the pack and moved to swing the bag onto her shoulders. She was surprised when Deidara suddenly took the bag and cloak from her grip, fingers brushing hers. She was even more shocked when she suddenly felt strong hands grip her waist and lift her up.

Sakura suddenly found herself thrown over Kisame's broad shoulder, a startled squeak escaping her lips. Both of the males chuckled at her stunned look (well, Kisame assumed her expression was stunned considering he couldn't see her face in their current position) and began heading south. Temper rising, Sakura growled and sent Deidara a scathing glare. He was walking next to the rosette's head, her cloak and pack slung over his own cloaked shoulder.

"What the hell?" She exclaimed, "Why the _fuck_ am I being carried over your shoulder, Hoshigaki?"

Kisame chuckled and patted her thigh affectionately. "Well, Sakrua-san, we were both thoroughly impressed by your performance in our spar and have decided we're taking you to Leader-sama."

She rolled her eyes and glared, mentally _daring_ Kisame's hand to creep any farther up her leg.

"I came to you guys _willingly_. This is _completely_ unnecessary! Put. Me. _Down._" She demanded, attempting to cross her arms and squirm into a more comfortable position on Kisame's muscular shoulder. Deidara laughed and gazed at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, un." She tried to ignore the twinge in her chest at the familiar honorific, "This is just a precaution in case you suddenly change your mind about joining us." The blonde grinned and sent her a sidelong wink.

Sakura huffed but didn't argue further; inwardly preoccupied with wondering why she had felt her heart flutter when Deidara had called her _Sakura-chan_.

They had just crossed the (now destroyed) clearing and entered the forest when both Kisame and Deidara stopped, eyebrows furrowed. Sakura could feel a large accumulation of chakra appear just ahead of them and attempted to twist herself around to see what was going on. Kisame gently lifted her and set her down on her feet as a figure morphed out of a nearby tree.

"Well, well. Here I was coming to give a message to you two from Leader-sama when I come across **a positively intriguing scene**."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly when the strange man's voice took on a deeper, darker tone toward the end of his sentence. She thought he looked familiar, with his half black-half white skin and mesmerizing golden eyes. The rosette realized who the man was when he was completely out of the tree, large green venus-flytrap-like shell surrounding his shoulders and head.

"Zetsu-san," Kisame said, hand gripping Sakura's arm gently as he stepped forward slightly, almost protectively. Deidara, whose face was twisted slightly in suspicion and distrust, moved forward as well. His hand reached for Sakura's wrist as he pulled her backwards and behind him a bit. Expression slightly confused, she watched the new arrival, and tried to not jump when a slimy sensation dragged across her skin where Deidara's hand wrapped around her wrist. At the back of her mind, Sakura remembered reading somewhere (probably in a Bingo book) that the blonde Akatsuki had mouths on his hands.

"We were just on our way back to the base," Kisame inclined his head towards Sakura here, "With a special guest we believe Leader-sama would be interested in meeting."

"Yeah, un." Deidara added, "Sakura-san is interested in joining the Akatsuki and just proved that she'd be a valuable asset to the organization."

The rosette was vaguely aware of her face heating up lightly at his comment and his hand squeezing her wrist reassuringly. She also realized that his grip was slowly slipping down until he was entwining his fingers with hers, sending her another comforting squeeze. Her eyes darted to the blonde, cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she also noted that Deidara was almost an entire head taller than her, and Kisame a good foot taller than that. Her attention snapped back to Zetsu as he spoke.

"**Cut it with the protective crap you two**," He said with an irritated eye roll, "I have no intention of harming Haruno-san. I arrived in time to witness her and Kisame-san's fight and I must say I was quite impressed." His golden gaze traveled over to Sakura here, the corner of his lips tilting upwards in a wide smirk, revealing two rows of sharp teeth (much like Kisame's). "Your performance was **delightfully delicious**, Haruno-san."

Sakura didn't know whether to blush or shudder. So, she settled with a slight nod.

Zetsu straightened, attention returning to his two comrades. "I have informed Leader-sama of Haruno-san's desire to join the Akatsuki and have also given him my recommendation for Haruno-san's membership based on her **tasty** show."

All three seemed somewhat shocked by Zetsu's confession.

Sakura felt immensely grateful towards the plant-like man; he'd just made her job _so _much easier.

"Um, thank you, Zetsu-san. I really appreciate that." She smiled and he responded with his own (slightly nerve-wracking) grin.

"Oh, it's no problem, Haruno-san." His grin widened here, "**I look forward to working with you in the future**." He paused, expression turning contemplative. "That is, as long as Leader-sama decides to let you join." His grin returned, "**And doesn't kill you**."

Sakura paled slightly. _'That's right. I'm pretty sure I won't be allowed to leave their base alive if I'm not permitted to join the Akatsuki. They won't just let me be on my merry way with an exact location of one of their bases.'_

'_**Relaxe, babe. Considering how Blue and Blondie are acting so defensive of you towards Plant-boy and the way they all seemed so impressed of our kickass skills, you're bound to get in.'**_

Sakura couldn't help the snide thought of, _'Oh, so _you're_ still here.__**' **_before returning her attention back to Zetsu.

"Kisame-san, Leader-sama told me to tell you to head over to the Taki-base. The other members will be making their way over there in the following week." Zetsu's eyes traveled to the blonde. "Deidara-san will escort Haruno-san to the Ame base to meet with Leader-sama."

After Kisame and Deidara nodded in understanding (the latter grinning widely at the thought of getting Sakura to himself for a while), Zetsu began to sink into the ground. With the top of his shoulders and head still visible, he looked up at Sakura with a scary yet encouraging smile.

"Good luck **cherry blossom**."

Before any of them could reply, Zetsu sank out of sight and a heavy silence fell over the forest.

"Well," Kisame started and both Deidara and Sakura turned their attention to him. "I guess I'll be heading out now."

He rested his hand on Sakura's shoulder, sending her a reassuring grin. "See ya soon, kitten."

She smiled, shifting her weight to her other let. "Bye, Hammerhead."

Kisame chuckled, nodded towards Deidara, gave his farewell, and took off into the trees-headed north-east.

"Alright, un." Deidara said after a few moments, "Let's get goin'!" He smiled dashingly at Sakura and turned to head deeper into the forest.

"Deidara-kun?" Sakura cooed softly and he froze, turning to her with an excited grin.

"Yes, Sakura-chan, un?"

She blinked innocently up at him.

"You can let go of my hand now."

Deidara's grin faltered slightly before widening, unaware that the tongue of the mouth on his hand was licking Sakura's palm suggestively. Sakura frowned, hoping he wasn't going to throw her over his shoulder like Kisame had. Deidara suddenly pulled her into his chest as his smirk grew even more. He leaned down slightly and whispered into her ear.

"I don't think so, un."

His free hand, which had darted into his clay-pouch and had been furiously molding a clay bird, rose and threw his creation above them. Muttering a small, "Kai!" and forming the release symbol with his hand, the bird expanded and landed before the two. Wrapping an arm around her waist (but still keeping a firm grip on her hand, like he had said), Deidara jumped onto the back of his living-sculpture

Sakura released a startled yelp from her place in the blonde's arms as the bird suddenly took off, rising through the sparse branches of the trees skillfully. She huddled closer to Deidara, free hand gripping his bicep and eyes squeezing shut as the temperature dropped considerably the higher they flew.

She could feel his chuckle vibrate through his chest as he pulled her closer. He bent down somewhat to whisper in her ear again.

"Open your eyes, Sakura-chan. I think you'll like what you see, un."

Tentatively, Sakura cracked an eye open and gasped.

Before her, the sky was an amazing sapphire blue that spread out from never-ending points, encasing the two in an airy sheet of blue. Fluff white clouds rolled by leisurely and she spotted a few birds soaring nearby. The sun was hanging high overhead, warming her skin while the low pressure of their height simultaneously cooled them. She tilted her head to the side and glanced over the side of the bird to gaze down at the top of the Kusa forest, spotting a small sliver of winding blue through the treetops. Her grip on his arm grew slightly as she realized _just_ _how_ _high_ _they_ _were_ and he responded by tightening his hold on her waist, laughing softly to himself.

"Not afraid of heights are we, un?"

Sakura snorted in a very lady-like manner and lightly elbowed the blonde's stomach.

"Hell no. I'm just a little concerned with the fact that it's just one wrong step and _splat_." She answered, blushing as his warm breath fanned over the back of her neck.

"Don't worry, un." He said seriously, "I gotcha. You're not gonna go splat on my watch, un." As an example, he flared a bit of chakra around his feet, showing that he was keeping them anchored to the bird. Sakura smiled back at him gratefully and relaxed.

His cloak fluttered in the wind and Sakura wondered where _her_ pack and cloak were. She turned her head towards him slightly, question on her lips, when he pulled down the collar of his cloak, guessing her question. She could see her possessions slung over his shoulder inside his cloak and nodded to herself.

Moving his grip regretfully from her hand to her elbow, Deidara slowly lowered them into a sitting position on the bird. "It's a pretty long ride to Ame, un. Might as well get comfortable." He explained, smiling at her. His long blonde hair was streaming behind him and Sakura inwardly hoped her own pink locks wouldn't fly into his face and choke him. He didn't seem to mind her hair, though, as he rested his chin on top of her head, inconspicuously burying his face in the petal-like hair to inhale her scent for a moment.

Sakura felt the motion and blushed, stiffening slightly. He chuckled for what seemed like the hundredth time that day and pulled her back into his chest, encouraging her to relax.

She sighed and relented, eyes closing as she relished the feeling of the cool breeze caressing her face.

**::**

_**November 14, 10:15 AM**_

Tsunade couldn't say she was surprised when Yamanaka Ino burst through the doors of her office, face contorted in worry and a stray sliver of anger.

"Tsunade-sama! Forehead-girl is missing!"

She inwardly sighed; she couldn't avoid this forever. She'd have to play her part perfectly. Maybe no one had to know that Sakura had left to join the Akatsuki.

"What are you talking about, Yamanaka?"

"Sakura! She's missing!"

"Oh?" Tsunade questioned, knitting her fingers together under her chin. "And how do you know?"

"Well, I just got back from my mission this morning and I wanted to visit Forehead. So, I went by her apartment, but the door was locked." Ino shifted her weight to her other leg, eyes hard in worry. "Normally, I wouldn't think much of that. I thought that, maybe, she was still asleep, so I decided to surprise her. I know where she keeps her spare key, but when I went inside she wasn't there."

"So? Sakura's probably out training."

"That was my second guess. But her apartment seemed really, I don't know, empty."

"That usually happens when no one's home, Ino."

Ino ignored her sarcastic comment and continued.

"I decided to snoop around her apartment 'cause Forehead borrowed a shirt of mine a few weeks ago and she hasn't returned it to me yet. I don't usually mind, since we swap clothes all the time, but I wanted to wear it to this date on Friday. It's a really cute shirt, a pretty teal tha-"

"Ino. Sakura?" Tsunade interrupted, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Her expression turned serious again. "So, I went into her room to search for the shirt. And the first thing I noticed was that her window was open."

"And? Maybe she was just letting a breeze into her apartment." Tsunade hated having to lie and act so oblivious, especially to Sakura's best friend. This conversation hurt, but she knew she couldn't avoid it.

"That's the thing, I know Billboard-brow. She's really paranoid about people or animal getting into her apartment, so she always keeps the window closed when she's out. And," She paused, biting her lower lip. "There was, like, dirt on the window sill. Like someone had been crouching on it."

Playing her part well, Tsunade allowed her eyebrows to furrow as well, the worry in her eyes not entirely faked.

"Tsunade-sama. I think Sakura's been kidnapped."

Uh, oh.

**::**

_**November 14, 1:35 PM**_

"Sakura-chan, un. Wake up; we're here, un." Deidara said, shaking her shoulder lightly.

The rosette blinked drowsily, glazed-over emerald eyes traveling up to the face of a smiling Deidara, his own sky-blue eyes clear and excited. She sat up suddenly when she realized she had fallen asleep in the arms of the blonde. Her face burned lightly when she also realized that, at some point during their flight, she had burrowed her way into his cloak and snuggled up against his chest.

"Sorry." She murmured, cheeks pink in embarrassment as she attempted to unravel her way out of his cloak, hands shaking slightly. Deidara grinned, helping untangle her.

"It's alright, un. I thought it was a very _enjoyable_ flight."

Her blush deepened and he laughed, helping her to her feet. He jumped off the side of the bird which had landed in front of the Amegakure gates. A few guards were observing the two with expressions of interest and suspicion, but seemed to have recognized the blonde and were opening the gates. Deidara held his hand out to Sakura, the mouth on his hand grinning up at her. She pursed her lips slightly but took his offered limb, inwardly smiling at his chivalry as he helped her off the bird.

"Thanks for flying Art Airlines, un!" He said once she was on the ground, "We hope you've enjoyed your flight. And remember, un" The bird flew into the sky and he formed the release symbol with his other hand.

"Art's a bang!"

The bird exploded on his command and he grinned down at her. She laughed, enjoying how relaxed she felt around the blonde. Maybe it was because he reminded her of two other blondes she knew? Whatever the reason, she found herself somewhat shocked at the fact that she'd dozed off during the trip.

'_**You're mission is to gain their trust. Did you honestly expect that you **_**wouldn't**_** get attached to any of them? You're gonna have to give a little trust to receive some in return, honey.'**_

Sakura inwardly nodded; her Inner's words made sense. Something occurred to her as Deidara took her elbow and led her through the gates.

'_Why did you suddenly reappear, anyways?' _She mentally asked Inner.

'_**This mission of yours is going to be difficult. Like, you might eventually snap and become mentally unstable-difficult. I've decided to grace you with some psychological help, darling. Kami knows you're going to need it.'**_

The rosette mentally grimaced. Her Inner had been MIA for the past five or six years because she knew Sakura could handle herself. If she had reappeared because she was worried about how mentally, physically, and possibly emotionally taxing this mission would be, maybe she should be a bit more nervous. She sneaked a peek up at the blonde next to her. Deidara noticed her gaze out of the corner of his eye and smiled down at her, pulling her closer and hand traveling down from her elbow to her hand once more.

She found herself smiling as well. Maybe trust wouldn't be the only thing she'd gain from this experience.

**::**

Their sudden stop before a tall building signaled the end of their journey. Ame citizens had sent her curious glances during their walk, but Sakura had found herself ignoring the looks in favor of preparing for her impending meeting with the Akatsuki leader. Deidara shot her a nervous grin, hand tightening a bit around her own.

"Well, here we are, un." He said, feet shuffling as he stalled.

"Yup." Sakura replied unenthusiastically. She wondered if he could hear her heartbeat, because she sure could; it was pounding in her ears. Half-false, half-true acts of badassery weren't going to cut it here. She'd have to be quick, clever, respectful, and lucky; hoping to Kami she'd leave the building alive and with an Akatsuki cloak in hand.

Deidara seemed to sense her thoughts and he bent down a tad.

"Good luck, Sakura, un. I'll be rooting for you."

She nodded in thanks, worried suspicions confirmed at the lack of _–chan _added to her name. Nodding once as well, Deidara stepped forward and grasped the doorknob, sending Sakura an encouraging smile.

Unfortunately, Sakura was completely unprepared for what happened next.

**::**

_Sugar cube  
>Tonight, tonight<br>I'm gonna make you, take you, face you, shake you  
>Right down to the dance floor<em>

**::**

**notes: **Oh, _yeah_. I just dropped a _cliffhanger_ on all of you. BUT I SWEAR, I HAD TO STOP THE CHAPTER SOMEWHERE. If things had gone as I had planned, Sakura would have gotten to Ame and already met with Pein _last_ chapter. But words just seemed to flow while I typed and everything seemed to stretch. Besides, I think I like everything much better this way :)

Oh, and plenty of Deidara/Sakura fluff for all your DeiSaku fans out there.

Can I just say that I'm, like, completely obsessed with characters giving other characters nick-names? Yeah.

HOW'S THAT FOR A FIGHT SCENE? Honestly, I wasn't completely happy with the some parts of the fight; it was a bit too repetitive with all the swinging, blocking, and dodging. But, hey; that's what most ninjas do in their fights, right?. Not a lot of jutsu used because 1) Sakura doesn't use many (besides the occasional genjutsu) and 2) Kisame wasn't _trying _to kill her.

But anyways, how'd I do? I don't have a lot of practice in the fight-scene area, but I tried my best.

I just realized that those DeiSaku scenes were probably the most fluffy/romantic things I've ever written. Most of my other stories are _implied _romance, but nothing ever really happens. SO YES, I AM QUITE PROUD OF THIS CHAPTER.

Hope it was long enough for you all :)

Oh, and that next day update I did for chapter one (the first 'chapter' of the story was actually just the prologue, so last chapter is chapter one) was probably a one-time thing. BUT I SHALL TRY MY BEST TO KEEP UP THE 'ONLY A FEW DAYS LATER'-SPEEDY UPDATES. All for you guys :)

**Now for an important question**. Should Pein have romantic-esque feelings for Konan as well as Sakura? Which would mean Sakura and Konan somewhat sharing Pein *shot*. Or should he and Konan just be friends? Which would mean Konan and Pein would have to share Sakura (with the rest of the Akatsuki as well!) D: So complicated! But, just to let you know, either way we go, there's a possible PeinSakuKona threesome-triangle in the future. I'M STILL CONTEMPLATING LEMONS PEOPLE, DON'T GET YOUR HOPES UP JUST YET.

So, anyways. PeinSaku with KonaSaku and PeinKona (implying Konan and Sakura share Pein)? Or just PeinSaku and KonaSaku with Pein and Konan sharing Sakura?

Wait, technically this question is just asking PeinKona or no PeinKona. 'Cause, either way, Sakura's gonna get some Pein _and _Konan lovin'.

So, yes. **Pein/Konan or no Pein/Konan?**

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Reviews = Love = Happiness = Inspiration = Faster Updates = More Smiles

Create some smiles, people.

**::Thirrin73::**


	4. Chapter Three: No Backward Glances

**notes**: Sorry for the wait! I had a brief tussle with the dreaded Writers Block, but I prevailed!

AND HOLY FUDGE, SOMETIME DURING ALL THAT BLOCKAGE WE REACHED 100 REVIEWS :O *dances like a maniac*

So, thanks for all the lovely reviews, you awesome people you! *joins Lee in a round of crying the Tears of Youth*

As for the question from last chapter, it appears that Konan and Pein shall have a sibling-like relationship with them sharing/fighting over Sakura with the rest of the Akatsuki.

Oh, and in case you guys haven't already realized, this story shall contain MUCH OOCNESS. Like, incredibly OOC. I try to keep the characters in character, but when it comes to the romance, they will be OOC. I'm making this story as realistic as possible, but sometimes canon just doesn't cut it.

Which leads me to Deidara's actions in the last chapter. Not everyone will fall for Sakura right away, but a few (such as Deidara) will fall quickly. And hard. The romance will be gradual for some and instant for others. I view Deidara as the most likely to become smitten quickly, so that's why he was acting all affectionate last chapter. Besides, his actions weren't just completely random. He actually _fell _for Sakura with a real reason; she reminds him of his art and he really appreciates her destructive qualities, thus the smitten-ness.

Oh, and **important**: I view the Akatsuki as the type to not beat around the bush or be subtle. So, when one of them realizes that they like Sakura, they will act on this interest. They will become affectionate. They will become friendly. THEY WILL LET SAKURA KNOW THAT HEY, I'M INTERESTED. In other words: **They won't be afraid to express their feelings, no matter how sexual.**

Which could get kind of complicated. Hehe.

Anyways, enough with that rant.

Like before, let me take a moment to thank all you wonderful reviewers! **asdf**, **xXFallenxBeautyxX**, **angel897**, **Ketsueki** **no** **Kuki**, **JezabelStrike**, **IKillatFirstsight**, **Queen** **Anne's** **Revenge**, **Gigi**, **Akatsuki's a bang**, **yuukiheart**, **bloodsucker232**, **alyssaangel15**, **Koi** **no** **Mega** **Lover**, **tori**, **Aneho**, **Saiyuri** **Haruno**, **i m f a d i n g a w a y**, **10tealeaf**, **TenshaiSayuki**, **TheAttentionJustEncouragesHer**, **Danny** **Bunny**, **firehottie**, **Emma**, **Mo-mo**, **Black** **snake** **eyes**, **mesweet735**, **YoH** **KiRi**, **xSakuraWings**, **Vbabeofhearts**, **Nikooru-sama**, **The** **Lady** **Avaritia**, **LittleFoxDemon**, **cherryblossomszahime**, **TeenageCrisis**, **Hotaru** **of** **the** **Akatsuki**, **cheese, ****wingedmercury**, **CherryCherry**, **sdfd**, **Saku-Chan.x**, **siNLiLy**, **DeAtHr0Se-ItAcH1**, **.**, **2AsiAn4y00h**, **RAWR** **the** **Green** **Ranger**, **Rose** **Takamora**, **demonrose321**, **lemonpop**, , **PandaFatty**, **I. Lilith Kitsune**, **JadeAngel1996**, **KyleCynthia**, **xXMarayXx**, **StormDragon666**, **ShadowFoxAngel**, **Bloodied Tears of a Lost Dream**, and **delilah-smurple**.

Replying to all your (MEGA-AWESOME) reviews took _forever_. But I enjoyed every minute of it. I reply to let each and every one of you personally know how much I love you. :) If I missed you, I'm really sorry D:

Oh, and let me reply to my anonymous reviewers real quick:

To **asdf**: Thanks for voting and reviewing! I'm glad you liked last chapter! Here's your update :)

To **Gigi**: Thanks for giving your vote, I really appreciated it! I'm glad you loved the fight scene! Aw, thanks :) Lol, I could only imagine how fun it would be to take a trip on Deidara airlines. Thanks again for the review!

To **tori**: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you're loving it so far! Here's your update!

To **Emma**: Hi again! I'm glad you liked the fight scene! Aw, thanks :D Glad you liked the DeiSaku! Lol, glad you liked the protectiveness as well. Thanks! Glad you liked the Team Seven moment! Thanks for voting! Your vote has been tallied and is much appreciated :) Thanks again!

To **Mo-mo**: Hello again! I'm glad you loved the last chapter! Aw, who wouldn't be jealous of lucky Sakura-chan? Glad you liked the DeiSaku. Don't worry, Deidara isn't the only one who's gonna get some lovin'! It's just a little hard to give other's some Sakura-love when they haven't showed up yet :P Thanks again!

To **cheese**: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're liking the story so far! Thanks for voting! Here's your update!

To **CherryCherry**: Sorry for confusing you with all of that! But thanks for voting and reviewing :) I'm glad you're liking the story so far!

To **sdfd**: Thanks for voting! Though, I have to let you know that Pein isn't really the male lead :/ There really isn't a male lead in this story, I hope to give all the guys (and Konan) equal amounts of Sakura-love. Thanks for reviewing!

To **lemonpop**: I'm glad you like the story so far! I'll be sure to put plenty of KisaSaku love in the future chapters! Thanks for the review!

To **JadeAngel1996**: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like the story! Thanks for putting it on your favorites :) Thanks for voting! I really appreciate it. Thanks again!

And, done.

When I first wrote this fic, it was completely on whim due to watching those four vids from back in chapter one. I had no _idea _it would become so well-liked so quickly. So you all (even those who just read but don't review) have my eternal love and gratitude.

Beginning of this chapter is a little slow, but it gets better...

Now, enough of me wasting your time. ONWARD!

THIS STORY IS COMPLETELY CRACK. Just in case you haven't already guessed so :)

And EXTRA-EXTRA LONG CHAPTER to make up for the wait and celebrate reaching 100 reviews!

Oh, and **warning: **Much cussing ahead.

Enjoy!

**::**

**_Sugar Cube_**

**_-Chapter Three-_**

**_No Backward Glances_**

**::**

_On the break down_

**::**

To say Sakura was surprised when a man wearing an orange mask suddenly appeared and tackled Deidara the moment the blonde opened the door was an understatement.

The only warning Deidara received before he was suddenly being enthusiastically hugged by Tobi was a loud, "SENPAI!", but, by the time he heard the shout and realized what it meant, it was too late.

Sakura stood there, mouth shaped into a small 'o' of surprise, for a few moments as her brain attempted to understand _just what was happening._ At Deidara's exclamation of, "Get the hell off me, Tobi, un!" she managed to snap out of her reverie. She failed to conceal the snorting giggle that bubbled inside her and finally gave up trying to keep a straight face and just started laughing at the blonde's expense.

Deidara's attention snapped over to the rosette in horror, hand pressed against Tobi's mask as he attempted to pry the over-joyed man off of his person.

"This isn't _funny_, Sakura-chan, un!"

His cry only served to fuel her laughter.

Tobi, who had been exclaiming just how much he had, "Missed you Deidara-senpai! It's been so lonely and boring and Hidan-san kept trying to sacrifice Tobi!", seemed to finally notice the bemused kunoichi.

"Ah! You must be Sakura-chan! Zetsu-san mentioned that you would be arriving with Deidara-senpai!" He bounded up to her and took her hands in his, presumably grinning broadly behind his mask. "I'm so happy to meet you Sakura-chan! Tobi hopes you get to join the Akatsuki so we can become the best of friends!"

Sakura smiled at him, nodding in affirmative, before Deidara suddenly gripped the back of the collar of Tobi's cloak and yanked him away from her.

"Alright, alright, un. Sakura-chan has to go meet with Leader-sama." He muttered, sending a sidelong glare at the masked man as he took her arm and led her through the doors. Tobi chirped a happy, "Okie-dokie, Deidara-senpai!" and followed after the two.

The blonde grimaced and tried to ignore the chatty man as he steered Sakura down many twisting hallways and to a flight of stairs. Tobi stayed on the first floor and watched them climb the stairs, sending a quick, "Good luck, Sakura-chan!" after her.

When they reached the last step they turned down the hallway and stopped before one of the few doors. Deidara gave her arm an encouraging squeeze and knocked once on the door before stepping back.

"I'll be out here, Sakura-chan. Good luck." He sent her a reassuring smile and inclined his head towards the door when a muffled, "Enter." was heard. Sakura took a breath, smiling weakly at the blonde and gripped the doorknob.

She shut the door behind her and was almost instantly overwhelmed by an impressive and powerful chakra. She found it nearly too hard to breath with the oppressive energy in the air, but, with a few encouraging words from Inner, she turned from the door, her entire demeanor confident and expression serious.

The overpowering chakra slowly ebbed away until it was just a faint chill in the air, whispering promises of what its owner could do. A velvety chuckle pierced the silence and Sakura's eyes found the figure seated behind a large desk, his body entirely encased in shadows.

"You're a brave one, aren't you? Haruno Sakura, is it?" The figure murmured before addressing her. Sakura nodded and stepped forward.

"I believe you already know why I am here, Sir."

"Indeed, I do Haruno-san." He replied. She could practically feel him smirk as the shadows shifted, hands folding under his chin. "I must admit. I was quite surprised by Zetsu's recommendation for your membership into the Akatsuki." His silhouette moved as he cocked his head slightly.

"It's not often that both sides of Zetsu can agree on something. You must have certainly impressed him."

Sakura inwardly smiled; if she got through this, she was _so_ going to give that crazy plant-man a hug.

"Now, why do you believe you would be an asset to the Akatsuki, Haruno-san?" He asked. She was vaguely aware of another figure appearing off to the side of him, but her attention stayed pinned to the Akatsuki Leader.

"My medical skills are top notch and my strength is unmatched." She began, chin tilting up slightly as her confidence grew. "My chakra control is perfect and I have surpassed my shishou in every way."

Through the shadows Pein didn't seem too surprised by her accusations, but he didn't say anything and Sakura took that as a sign to continue.

"I was trained by the fifth Hokage, Tsunade, and the Copy Nin, Kakashi. As I've proved, twice now, I can hold my own against an Akatsuki."

"Yes, you aided in the defeat of Akasuna no Sasori, if I'm not mistaken." He said, his silver-ringed eyes piercing into her. She nodded but he spoke again when something occurred to him.

"You are close to the Kyuubi vessel, are you not, Haruno-san?" The smirk was evident in his voice.

Sakura's heart clenched but she pushed the feeling aside; she'd known this would have come up.

"Yes, I was teammates and..." She paused, straightening a bit, "Close friends with Uzumaki Naruto."

The shadows shifted as he nodded and Sakura took a moment to glance at the blue-haired woman standing to the left of him. Her gaze snapped back to Pein as he spoke.

"Alright. You're in."

Sakura inwardly beamed but she kept her face as emotionless as possible, body relaxing.

"But," Her heart nearly stopped, "Making you a full member of the Akatsuki can't happen so immediately. You will be given two weeks to convince the other members that you would be valuable to the organization."

The rosette's eyebrows furrowed, but she didn't argue. Pein's silhouette shifted as he leaned back in his chair.

"I'm interested in witnessing your infamous strength personally." His eyes drilled into her own emerald orbs as he continued. "Haruno-san, you will spar with one of the members here and then leave with Deidara for the Taki base to join the other members. Towards the end of the two weeks, I will arrive to hear their opinions on your membership."

He paused, inclining his head towards the door. "Deidara will escort you to the training area."

Sakura nodded and bowed respectfully, leaving the room without another word.

Outside, Deidara was leaning against the opposite wall. He immediately brightened when Sakura stepped into the hallway, approaching her with an inquisitive head-tilt.

"So, how'd it go, un? You in? What'd Leader-sama say, un?"

She smiled nervously, nodding to herself. "Yeah, but I have to convince the other members that I should be allowed to join first." She paused, thinking what had happened over. _'Two weeks. That isn't very long. What if I can't convince everyone?'_

**'**_**Calm down, hun. You've already got three on your side. This should be easy.'**_

Sakura sighed slightly and looked up at Deidara. "But first, I've got to spar with someone to give Leader-sama a little taste of my power." The title for the Akatsuki leader felt foreign to her tongue, but she knew she'd have to start calling him that. She smiled at the blonde (who seemed slightly excited at the thought of watching Sakura destroy some shit again) and tilted her head to the side.

"Can you lead me to the training area?" She asked, inwardly taking stock of her chakra reserves. The flight to Ame had been long enough to let her regain most of her chakra lost from her fight with Kisame. She could only hope it would be enough.

"Sure, un. Follow me."

He took her arm and led her back down the way they had come. Sakura beamed in thanks and let him guide her.

"You know who you're going to be fighting, un?"

Sakura frowned as curiosity, worry, and a stray drop of dread pooled in her stomach.

"No idea."

**::**

The training area was actually a gigantic room under the building, stocked with everything a ninja needed to hone their skills. The walls were fortified so that the roof wouldn't cave in and the room was divided into differant sections for different purposes. Sakura felt herself drawn to the more forest-like training area, preferring the dirt and stone floor over the wooden area (where she assumed the member's taijutsu and weaponry was practiced).

Tobi had followed the two once they left the stairwell to the second floor and was now standing off to the side with Deidara, waving enthusiastically at her when she glanced over to the two. Sakura stretched as she waited, noticing Pein and who she presumed was his partner (she could vaguely recall the name Konan being mentioned somewhere) appear out of the corner of her eye. They stood off to the side with Deidara and Tobi, watching her with curious eyes.

Sakura frowned. If she wasn't going to fight one of those four, who was her opponent?

Her answer came not a moment later when all of Sakura's instincts and Inner screamed at her (the latter more like a banshee than the prickling sensation of the former) to _fucking DUCK!_

Sakura narrowly avoided decapitation as something red and _freaking sharp _sliced through the air above her. A particularly _insane_ laugh forced Sakura's attention to snap to her left. The scythe that had nearly killed her was swung back to its owner and maniacal violet eyes bore into Sakura, a wicked grin spreading across Hidan's face.

"Hey, bitch!" He shouted, cocking his three-bladed scythe on his shoulder. "You're fucking hot! Jashin-sama'll appreciate that when I sacrifice you to him!"

A river of information rushed through Sakura's mind as she recalled everything she knew about the immortal Akatsuki member, Hidan. But, everything Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji had told her, all the reports, and all the information in the Bingo book only whispered at the back of her thoughts as Sakura's eyes fell on his scythe. One thought floated above the rest.

Deidara still had Chiisai.

_Shit._

**::**

_**November 14, 12:08 PM**_

It was obvious to Kakashi that something was wrong the moment he stepped foot in the village.

He'd spent the day at the training grounds, attempting to clear his head of thoughts of his beloved pink-haired student and the _blaringly_ dangerous mission she was on. Thoroughly drained of energy and craving a bowl of steaming ramen, he'd headed back to the village walls with deliciously aching muscles, much more mentally and emotionally at ease than before.

He passed a worried looking Kotetsu and Izumo, who both sent him sympathetic glances as they scurried off to the Hokage tower. Kakashi frowned, wondering what was up with the duo and inwardly questioning the dread returning to the pit of his stomach. Sighing, he pushed the feelings and questions away and continued on to Ichiraku, blaming his unsettled stomach on hunger.

He ordered a bowl of miso and swiveled in his stool, leaning back against the counter and lone eye traveling leisurely over the street. Civilians passed as they normally did, carrying out their daily duties, but occasionally a nin would flit by, faces twisted with slight anxiety. At each sighting of the worrisome expressions, another knot of uneasiness appeared within Kakashi until his normally slack posture was tightened to the point of paranoia.

It was Tenten who bounded up to him, her own normally happy face contorted into concern.

"Kakashi! I'm glad I found you!" She exclaimed as she stopped before him, right hand agitatedly playing with a kunai.

"Ah, Tenten. What's wrong?"

"You haven't heard?"

Kakashi's brows furrowed and he straightened in his stool, ignoring the bowl of ramen that appeared at his elbow. "No. I just got back from the training grounds. What's going on?" _They couldn't have found out about Sakura already, have they? _Kakashi had sincerely hoped that she would have had at least a few more days to get ahead of Konoha before hunter teams were sent out. But, at Tenten's words, he knew that those feelings of dread hadn't been for nothing.

"Sakura's missing! Ino's thinks she's been kidnapped and is telling everyone!"

Kakashi's visible eye widened, having not expected that.

"Tsunade-sama is calling people to her office, asking when the last time anyone saw Sakura was. Since Kiba is out on a mission, Hana was sent to Sakura's apartment to search for clues."

"Why does Ino think Sakura-chan's been kidnapped? Maybe she's just out training."

Tenten bit her lip and fingered her kunai. "Did you see her at the training grounds?"

Kakashi grimaced, but answered. "No."

"No one's seen her since yesterday afternoon. Ino said that her bedroom window was open and what looked like dirt was on the sill." Tenten paused, glancing down the street.

"And, I talked to Shino earlier, asking around to see if anyone had noticed anything suspicious. He told me that his, um, bugs had witnessed a flurry of activity at the gates last night." Kakashi inwardly cursed. "And that someone, maybe _two_ someones, had been traveling through the forest sometime after that. And they were in a _hurry_."

Kakashi stayed silent, mind reeling over the thought that anyone else might have seen them.

"Shino said that the bugs couldn't identify who it had been, so I'm on my way to report to Tsunade-sama right now." Tenten turned, heading back into the street, before she glanced over her shoulder at him.

"You should go check out Sakura's apartment as well. You might catch something that Hana didn't."

He nodded numbly and she disappeared back into the street.

Something didn't make sense to Kakashi. There was enough evidence to at least _hint_ at Sakura leaving by herself, but, so far, everyone thought that she'd been kidnapped. Something whispered at the back of his mind, inwardly caressing him at the almost warming thought. Maybe all of Sakura's friends and comrades just couldn't picture Sakura betraying the village. Maybe they were pinning her absence on the second most logical reason: kidnapping. _Everyone_ was close to her, it only made sense that they would be worried for her safety.

Kakashi frowned and turned back to the counter, yanking down his mask to hurriedly eat his ramen then pay for his meal, leaving the stand and heading for the stone memorial to talk with his teammates.

When it became clear that Sakura _hadn't _been kidnapped (as he was sure that they would eventually figure out), everything would fall from there. Crashing and burning in a desperate pile of uncertainty, worry, anger, pain, and the all-important question.

_Why?_

**::**

_**November 14, 2:03 PM**_

Of course, resorting to her fists and the weapons she had stowed away on her person was the obvious turn-to. It's not like it wouldn't be a problem, but Sakura _loathed _the fact that she'd been so careless as to leave her beloved Chiisai with Deidara, no matter _how_ much she was beginning to grow fond of the blonde. Chiisai was special to her and like _hell_ she was going to lose something her boys had given her.

As soon as she was done kicking this _psycho's _ass, she was going to take her lovely axe out for a wonderful outing of destroying ground and trees.

Sakura cursed, back-flipping over another swing of Hidan's scythe. '_But first, I'm going to have to take down Crazy.'_ She inwardly sorted through all the information she had about Hidan. His fighting style that had been derived from his fights with Shikamaru, his strange religion that seemed to leave him immortal, _everything_ she could think of.

It occurred to her that the easiest way to defeat Hidan was to decapitate him and leave him incapacitated. She inwardly grinned; a horrendously-strong punch to the head or chakra scalpel to the neck would do the trick.

But, as she quickly took a kunai in hand to block against his scythe and jumped back enough to keep out of range, Sakura realized that getting _close enough_ to decapitate the man would be much harder than it appeared. She recalled what Shikamaru had said about how Hidan's curse worked. All he needed was a drop of blood and it was all over.

Sakura frowned, flicking a handful of shuriken at her opponent as she ducked under another swing of his weapon, and gaped slightly when he merely let the stars pierce his torso, a slight expression of unveiled pleasure washing over his face as he grinned at her.

"Well then," She muttered to herself, crouching down and quickly slipping her gloves onto her hands, "If he seems to like pain so much, I guess I'll just have to make my punches painful enough to overpower his ecstasy.

Hidan didn't seem to notice her self-musings as subconsciously licked his lips. Oh, _fuck_ yeah. He could practically _smell_ the power and promise of euphorical pain radiating from this fragile-looking (_damn sexy_) kunoichi. This chick was going to be fun to play with. He cocked his scythe on his shoulder, hand absentmindedly patting the spike hidden in his cloak, just aching to plunge it into his chest.

He fantasized the wonderful expressions of pain the bitch would make as she felt the delicious sensation of the pike ripping through his heart through her own. He nearly lost himself in thought as he imagined the pained gasping breath she would take as her heart stopped and his ecstasy began.

Hidan grinned, fingers thrumming on the handle of his weapon. Oh, he couldn't _wait_ to sacrifice the bitch to Jashin-sama.

The lecherous look he was giving Sakura was really starting to freak her out so, with another tug on her gloves, she pulled a few kunai out of her thigh-pouch and darted towards the slightly distracted man. Intent on learning a bit of his fighting style at close range, she flicked a pair of kunai at Hidan.

The first sliced through the edge of his arm and brought him out of his reverie in time to deflect the second that was aim at his head. He spun his scythe around his body to gain momentum and swung it at her. Kunai gripped tightly in her hand, she parried against the scythe and scowled at his grinning face.

"Don't worry, bitch." He said as he moved his face as close to hers as he could. They each forced their weapon against the other, sparks flying from the metal, "I'll make your sacrifice as _extremely_ painful as possible."

Sakura glared at him, growling under her breath.

"Sorry _bastard_, but I don't think you'll be sacrificing _anyone _today." His maniac grin widened at the promise of bliss and she grimaced. Gathering chakra into her free hand, she formed a chakra scalpel and sliced at him, aiming for his neck.

He pulled back at the last moment and sent a kick to her side. Sakura dodged, but failed to block the punch he threw at her. She cursed as his fist met her stomach, throwing her back somewhat. She landed in a crouch, hand brushing her middle to check for further damage. _'Damn it, he's faster than I thought.'_

He stood a way from her but she could see the thin red line appear on his neck, a small stream of blood traveling down his throat. She smirked, chakra gathering in each hand and a pair of identical wicked scalpels forming.

**'**_**But not fast enough.'**_

At her inner's words, she straightened but winced as pain shot through her middle. She was still sore from her fight with Kisame and that punch only served to add to the discomfort. She inwardly pushed the shards of pain into a pile and crushed them, focusing on creating a battle strategy.

Bored with her idleness, Hidan ran forward and sliced his scythe at her, psychotic grin in place. Sakura dodged and ducked under the blades, arm sweeping at his leg as her chakra sliced tendons and muscle. She failed to completely sever his leg, unfortunately. Hidan cursed aloud and jumped back, ignoring the blood flowing down his leg and the torn tissue of his thigh.

With her practiced eye, she could see the skin of his leg slowly knit back together. Slightly amazed, she cursed. Shikamaru had never mentioned any fast healing abilities.

The pain was slight, but enough to give him a slight feeling of euphoria which he gladly accepted. But the pleasure wasn't enough to deter the ferocious glare he sent the rosette. That cut of hers had been just a little too far north for his likings. He sneered at her, gripping his scythe with a tight fist.

"Going for the jewels, eh bitch? Game's getting interesting." He darted forward, scythe held back to swing.

Sakura readied the muscles in her legs, obliterating her scalpels in favor of merely gathering a large amount of chakra in her fist. _'Bastard wants to play? Well ok. Let's play.'_

She dodged the wide-berth of the swings of the scythe, back-flipping and twisting just out of range. Sakura watched for an opening. She was burning chakra fast and what she had stored wouldn't last forever. She saw her chance and ducked under Hidan's scythe, inwardly noting that his swings were getting more and more frequent - signaling his anger. She appeared behind him and sent a punch at the back of his head, a loud, "Cha!" rising through her throat.

Unfortunately, she was completely unprepared for his body suddenly twisting around and his hand darting up to catch her fist. She took satisfaction in the sound of the bones in his hand crunching from the force of her punch, but he didn't even flinch. Instead, he grinned and yanked her forward.

He twirled her around until she was facing away from him, her back pressed into his chest and her arm twisted behind her painfully. She grunted, attempting to change her stance to keep the pressure off her arm. He snickered into her ear and tightened his grip on her arm as his free hand dug into his cloak. She suppressed a whimper as the pain in her wrist increased, crawling closer and closer to the peak of its breaking point.

"Gotcha, bitch. Looks like playtime's fucking over. Ready to be sacrificed to Jashin-sama?" He produced a long black spike form his cloak and held it before them, pointed at her chest.

Eyes wide, she struggled to free herself from his grip. _'Shit! Shit, shit, FUCKING SHIT!'_

Hidan grinned, pressing his face into her hair and he plunged the pike forward, through her flesh and into his own.

She cried out in pain, but one thing managed to barrel its way to the front of her mind. Through the flurry of throbbing pain and the feel of warm blood flowing down both her front and back.

He'd stabbed her shoulder, not her heart.

Pulling her farther back into him, he forced her head to the side as he dragged his tongue over her throat, licking up the blood that had splattered over her neck.

Her breath hitched and her face burned, but, at Inner's screaming and demanding that she _fucking DO SOMETHING, DAMMIT_, she managed to clear her head enough to force her free hand upward to grip the spike protruding from her shoulder and yank it from the ripped flesh. She grimaced and yelped as the metal scraped against bone. Once she was (quite literally) unpinned from Hidan, she collected more chakra in her hand and reached behind her to gather some of his cloak in her hand.

Bending slightly, she flipped him over her and away, twisting her arm to release it from his grip. As he was momentarily air-borne she pulled her fist back and sent it plummeting forward to bury it in his stomach.

"Shannaro! Take that, bastard!" She shouted, eyes flaming in rage. She winced as she jostled the hole in her shoulder, but grinned as he was sent flying away from her to plummet into the dirt._ 'Shit, two major fights in one day. I won't be able to hold out much longer.'_ Her hand darted to her shoulder and immediately started healing the wound. _'Damn it, he's got my blood. Shikamaru said that's all he needs to begin his twisted ritual!' _She thought, terror beginning to set in.

**'**_**Calm down! Think this through! Now's not the time to panic!'**_

'_It's the _perfect_ time to panic! Fuck!'_

**'**_**SHUT UP! Think! Shikamaru **_**also**_** said that he has to make that strange symbol in the ground.'**_

'_Yeah? So?' _She inwardly asked, panting as she watched Hidan slowly rise to his feet. She gripped her bruised wrist in her other hand, soothing the pain away.

**'**_**Sooo, the ground needs to be **_**flat**_** and **_**level**_** to effectively make the stupid symbol. **_**Right?**_**'**_

Sakura froze, realization hitting her like a delicious breath of fresh air. She took a few deep breaths, playing through the scene in her head over and over.

'_Th-this could work.'_

**'**_**It had **_**better **_**work. Or we're in some deep shit, honey.'**_

Hidan was on his feet and he grinned at her as he dug into the wound at his shoulder, letting the blood flow down onto the ground. Watching her panting and disheveled form, he planted a foot into the puddle of crimson and dragged it in a wide perfect circle around himself. Foot darting from point to point to point he made the triangle inside, completing the diagram. He sent a maniac grin over at her, chuckling darkly as his skin darkened to black and white skeletal-like marking appeared over his body.

"Prepare to fucking _revel_ as your damned soul is purged and put to good use, bitch! Jashin-sama's going to really appreciate such a damn-fine sacrifice!" He called over to her, idly spinning the bloodied spike in his hand, flinging drops of their mingled blood around him. He grinned when some landed on his cheek and his tongue darted out to lick the crimson liquid up, a pleasured groan ripping through his chest. As a test to make sure there were no snags in the connection, he pressed a finger to the tip of his pike, cutting through the flesh. He saw the same finger on her hand twitch and the black of her glove grow darker as blood soaked the fingertip. He laughed and yelled how he was going to, "Fucking enjoy watching the life drain from you're pretty damned face and your blood pooling around your fucking mangled body, mixing with that pussy-ass pink hair and staining it a _much_ better color. It's going to be fucking _beautiful_!"

**'**_**Now or never, babe!'**_

Pushing the raging pain in her body away, she pulled back her arm and let her chakra pool into her fist, that cobalt glow encasing it once more. With an audible growl, she sent her fist flying forward to smash into the ground.

"SHANNARO!"

Her catchphrase rolled off her tongue like honey and she took great satisfaction in uttering every syllable. Upon impact, the ground exploded before her, sending a large crack speeding towards the frozen form of Hidan, the pike halted a few inches from his chest in surprise. The walls of the room shook and Sakura sent a mortified glance upwards. She'd forgotten they were underground! But, to her relief, she could feel chakra pooling in the ceiling, holding the room together and keeping it from collapsing.

All at the same moment, her eyes darted back to Hidan, victory gleaming in the emerald orbs as her plan worked. The diagram he had made was destroyed as the ground was upturned and thrown about. She flinched, a sharp stab of pain shooting through her back as Hidan was thrown backwards and collided with the ground, his spike flying out of his hand to land a distance away. The connection of the ritual had still been in place just long enough for her to feel the impact of his fall but the marking on his skin bled away and his skin returned to its original coloring. An oppressing and dark aura she hadn't noticed immediately melted away from over her body.

Hidan cursed with a startled grunt and began to rise to his feet.

Sakura didn't give him the chance.

Immediately, she rocketed forward, slightly modified chakra scalpels forming at her hands. She sliced through his legs and arms, not cutting the flesh but immobilizing him - _paralyzing_ him. Surprisingly, she could feel the chakra she'd forced into his limbs being eaten away. Given enough time, he'd be free of her technique and able to attack. It looked like her original plan of decapitation was the only effective way of defeating him. She grimaced at the thought, but knew it was the only option.

But, who said she couldn't have a little fun before she made her final move?

She only hoped the blood would come out of her gloves...

Gripping the ripped collar of his cloak, she pulled his face up to hers, sneering down at him with glinting eyes. Dust fell from his form at the movements, but they both ignored the debris. Hidan stared up at her with a shocked expression that mingled with a look of impression, his jaw slightly agape and violet eyes wide. _No one_ had _ever_ been able to break the connection once it was formed. Who the hell was this bitch?

"You know," She murmured, angered expression melting away to a deceitfully calmer one, "I like to think of my punches as something that just adds to the wonderment of a battle. Something to sweeten the playing field, so to speak." Tightening her grip on his cloak and pulling her free arm back, she watched him calmly, her eyes betraying her excitement.

"Like sugar cubes to a cup of tea." Chakra flooded her fist, blue flickering around her hand for the fourth time that day.

"Now," She smirked devilishly, readying her arm.

"One lump or two?"

She threw her fist forward to smash into his face, inwardly surprising herself as she relished the crunch of his face _shattering_ and the crack of his spinal cord _snapping_ at the base of his skull as she drove her punch forward with unveiled fury. She grimace and looked away slightly as the inevitable happened and Hidan's head was ripped from his body and sent flying away. She watched the head rocket away before her face paled slightly and her furious expression melted away.

Hand shaking, Sakura dropped his immobile _headless_ body, trying her best to ignore the blood dripping from her fist and pooling at her feet. Her eyes were wide as realization dawned on her and she stumbled backwards, feeling light headed.

Hearing a delighted 'whoop' of joy, she glanced over to spot an elated Deidara, just now remembering that she'd had an audience the entire battle. He was pumping a fist into the air and sending her the most charming look for someone who had just watched a small pink-haired girl decapitate a fully grown man with only her fist. Tobi was standing stock-still before immediately jumping, hands clasped together as he clapped at her, "Amazing performance, Sakura-chan! Tobi thought it was awesome!" The tone of his first sentence had sounded slightly deeper - almost _darker_, but Tobi's voice returned to a jubilated exclaim before she could even wonder if the change had even happened.

Pein and Konan were exchanging glances and sharing a few soft spoken words as they regarded Sakura with impressed looks. Konan said something to Pein and the orange-haired man nodded absentmindedly, hand gripping his chin as his ringed-eyes studied the rosette.

Sakura stepped back and stood still, trying to calm herself and force the scene of her punching Hidan's head off to quit replaying through her mind. Inner was unsettling quiet, but she felt something thrum in her chest.

It felt like a strange mixture of horror, disgust, shock, and twisted _pride_.

She felt like she was going to be sick.

Fortunately, Deidara provided the perfect distraction as he jogged up to her, an ecstatic grin plastered expertly over his face. She thought she saw the briefest flash identical of horror and shock flit through his eyes, but it was gone the moment he draped an arm over her shoulder, relaying all his favorite parts of the battle back to her.

She nodded numbly, eyes darting towards Hidan's body occasionally. She reached a slightly shaking hand up to her cheek, wiping away at a slightly warm and wet spot. Her hand came away with blood on the fingertip and she paled a bit more. She sent a look back over to Hidan's body and _swore_ she saw his left foot twitch. She averted her eyes to the approaching pair of Pein and Konan instantly. Tobi ran to the headless form, a stick in hand as he innocently poked Hidan's battered body.

Deidara paused when he noticed her pale face and the dazed look in her eyes. Moving to stand in front of her, he rested his hands on her shoulder and made her meet his gaze.

"Sakura-chan, un? You alright? You're looking kind of pale, un."

Her eyes flickered over to Hidan's body, lips thinning in an uncomfortable frown. Deidara's expression turned sympathetic as he followed her line of attention.

"Never done that before, huh, un?"

Arms hanging limp at her side and blood continuing to drip from her hand, she shook her head as she watched Tobi continue to poke the headless body. The blonde smiled comfortingly and pulled the rosette to him, wrapping a soothing arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, un. It's alright. Bastard deserved it, un!" She looked up at him from under her lashes, relaxing slightly in his warm embrace. He grinned down at her and winked. "Hidan's been beheaded _plenty_ of times before, he can just add you to his growing list of 'Decapitators', un."

She smiled softly, glad that he was trying to console her. If the rest of the Akatsuki were _half_ as nice to be around as Deidara, maybe the next two weeks wouldn't be _too_ insane.

He interrupted her musings with a clap to the back as he stepped back, expression turning thoughtful.

"Now that I think about it, un, Kisame's damn lucky you didn't take _his_ head off when you decked him in the face earlier." Deidara said, grinning widely.

Sakura frowned, the discomfort from before slowly ebbing away, and crossed her arms.

"_Kisame _wasn't trying to _kill_ me."

Deidara laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "True, true, un."

Their conversation was interrupted by a sudden shout.

"Oi! Bastards! You fuckers just going to leave me here?" Hidan's head shouted nearby. Sakura and Deidara exchanged glances and joined Pein and Konan by Hidan's body. His bruised severed head lay a few feet behind his body, shouting curses at everything that moved.

"Well, this is just fucking _great_! Seriously! Now I'm gonna have to be taken all the fucking way to Taki to get stitch-face to sew my fucking head back to my fucking body! Doubt the damn bastard would fucking travel all the way here, the pansy."

Pein raised a single orange eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Nonsense, Hidan. I'm sure Sakura-san can put you back together." He ignored the head's shout of "The fucking bitch?" and continued, sending Sakura a sidelong glance. "She is, after all, a medic-nin. I'm sure knitting the skin, muscle, and bone of a severed head back to its body and returning it to a _functional_ state would be a simple task."

Pein smirked over at Sakura, seemingly challenging her. She suppressed a glare and nodded, not one to be deterred. She left Deidara's side and approached Hidan's head calmly. He glared up at her as she crouched down beside him. Sakura sighed and reached out to pick up the head, shooting him one of her own glares when he barred his teeth.

"Bite me and I'll put your head back on backwards." She said coolly. Hidan huffed and rolled his eyes - the equivalent of crossing his arms in his current state. Grinding her teeth, Sakura picked the head and placed him in the crook of her arm. After a brief examination of her remaining chakra (which was expectedly low) she reached into her medical pack and pulled out one blood replenishing pill and one chakra replenishing pill. She was inwardly grateful she hadn't tried to fumble for them earlier during the fight; Hidan would have taken advantage of her distraction and easily defeated her.

She popped the pills into her mouth and crunched down on them, feeling slightly more refreshed. She was unaware of Hidan's skyward gaze and continued to walk towards his body. It wasn't until he suddenly giggled (in a very manly way) that she looked down at him, eyes narrowing at his lecherous grin.

It was then that she realized what he was staring at.

With an indignant cry, she quickly moved his head away from her body and his attention was ripped from her chest.

"You freaking pervert!"

Furious, she gripped a bit of the hair at the nape of his neck and _pulled_, effectively ripping out some of the silver strands. Hidan yelped and began another long string of curses directed at her when she carried him the rest of the way by his hair, letting the head dangle at her side.

"You're lucky I didn't rip something _else_ off, bastard." She muttered as they reached his body and the group of four surrounding it. She kneeled by the immobile body and set Hidan's head in place, aligned with his neck. Gritting her teeth, she resisted the urge to flip the head over and gathered chakra in her hands. She estimated that she now had enough chakra to completely heal Hidan, but she was going to be _exhausted_ when she was done.

'_I want nothing more than to take a nap...and have lunch. I'm freaking _hungry_.'_

**'**_**You can eat after you've shown mister-pumpkin-head how badass our medical skills are, darling. Now, reattach the bastards head.'**_

Sakura inwardly rolled her eyes and placed one hand over Hidan's neck and another over his chest, both hands already encased in the familiar green glow. She was mildly surprised to find that, though his head had been severed, all of his organs were still functioning. With everything working as it should, it was going to be _much _easier to completely heal him.

She began by threading her chakra through the wound in his neck. The skin had been ripped rather than sliced by her punch and it took her a few moments to fit each tendon and vein back into alignment. Mingling her chakra in his bloodstream, she encouraged the blood to begin flowing once more and then molded the bones into place. She also sent some chakra flowing up to his face, repairing the damage from her punch.

Behind her, Tobi, Pein, Konan, and Deidara watched with rapt attention, all displaying various degrees of mild impression. Deidara had already seen her knit the cut she had given Kisame back together, but it was slightly different to watch the veins on Hidan's neck protrude slightly as blood continued its halted journey and hear the sound of his spine snapping back into place.

Sakura noticed Hidan's hand twitch at his side and remembered that she had crushed the bones there as well. Keeping a hand on his neck, she placed the other over his slightly swollen hand and gently moved the bones back into their proper place, filling the cracks and starting slightly when she felt his own fast-healing abilities take over. A pleasured groan sounded deep in Hidan's chest and he grinned up at her dazedly.

_Man_. He'd thought the ecstasy when he sacrificed someone was the best feeling in the world, but the bitch's chakra felt fucking _amazing_. He'd never experienced something like this and he almost didn't want it to end. That bastard Kakuzu's creepy threads felt disgusting threading through his skin, but _this_. _This _was the _shit_. After that battle, he never imagined that the pink-haired bitch's chakra could feel so _good_. Her punches had been hard enough to knock away the euphoria of the pain, but the feeling of her warm, _soothing, _chakra flowing through his injuries was probably the most pleasurable thing he'd felt in a long time. Maybe, Hidan mused, Jashin-sama wouldn't mind if he didn't sacrifice the kunoichi. He grinned and watched her face; her nose scrunched up slightly as she concentrated on her task of fixing up his wounds was fucking _adorable_.

He could always find some other fucker to sacrifice to Jashin-sama.

Sakura ignored his gaze with practiced ease (used to her patients watching her as she healed them) and focused on checking him over for any other injuries. Sealing the cuts on his torso and healing the hole in his shoulder were child's play and she soon sat back, withdrawing her chakra (much to Hidan's disappointment).

The rosette groaned, a hand rising to her head to nurse a migraine. That fight had been _much _more difficult than the one with Kisame. Now that she thought back to the battle she realized that Kisame could have easily beater her a number of times had he been attempting to _kill_ her like Hidan had. Kami, she was _spent._ Exhausted, sore, slightly lightheaded from her still dwindling blood loss, and devoid of most of her chakra, Sakura struggled to keep her eyes open.

"Oi, bitch!" Hidan said as he rose into a sitting position, leaning back on his arms. He sent her a grin and winked. "You've got some small tits but your fucking expertise with your hands make up for it!"

Somehow, Sakura found the strength to punch him.

She slowly started to stand while Hidan cursed, nursing his bruised nose. Noticing her weakened state, Deidara was quickly at her side and helping her to her feet. She sent him a grateful smile as he supported her and asked him the question that she'd been dying to ask.

"Deidara?"

"Hm?"

"Can I have my pack back? I'd accidentally left Chiisai with you." She asked, a slightly embarrassed look flashing over her face as her cheeks turned pink. Deidara laugh nervously and rubbed the back of his head before reaching into his cloak to return her belongings to her.

"Sorry about that, un. I guess your axe would have come in handy during your fight with Hidan, huh?"

Sakura nodded, gratefully accepting her pack and cloak, her fingers brushing over Chiisai's scroll as if in apology. She gave Deidara's shoulder a brief squeeze before reaching into her medical pack for a soldier pill. _'If I keep having battles like this all the time, I'm going to be dead of exhaustion before the two weeks are up. And I'll eventually run out of my stock of soldier, chakra replenishing, and blood replenishing pills. Kami, how am I going to get through this?'_

She grimaced at these thoughts, removing her arm from Deidara's shoulder and sending him another thankful smile. He grinned back and they both turned to Pein when he cleared his throat.

"Well, Sakura-san. I can see why Zetsu recommended your membership to Akatsuki and had seemed so intrigued. That was quite an impressive show." He sent her a smirk and Sakura couldn't help smiling slightly. Konan smiled at her as well, nodding in agreement.

"Oi!" Hidan shouted as he rubbed the back of his head, a questioning look on his face. "You fucking mean Pinky is gonna join the Akatsuki? Is that what the battle was about?"

Sakura sent him an unbelieving look.

"Wait. You fought me without even know _why_?"

Hidan had the gall to look embarrassed as he pouted up at her.

"Hey, hey don't give me that fucking look. Leader-sama just said to fight ya. Besides, I've been behind on my sacrifices. I'm not one to look a fucking gift-horse in the mouth."

Deidara rolled his eyes and Sakura pursed her lips angrily, crossing her arms and looking way from Hidan in exasperation. Konan silently sent a raised eyebrow at Pein who merely shrugged in answer. He crossed his arms and his expression morphed into his best 'Its-leader-time-bitches' look.

"Sakura-san, you and Deidara will leave immediately for the Taki base." The two bowed respectfully, inconspicuously sending each other sidelong smiles. Pein smirked and continued. "Tobi and Hidan shall be accompanying you two."

Sakura and Deidara shared looks of annoyance, each for a different reason. Hidan grinned and Tobi jumped in joy, bounding up to the rosette and the blonde to throw an arm over each of their shoulders.

"Yay! Tobi gets to travel with Deidara-senpai and Sakura-chan!"

Hidan sent her a smirk and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Hey bitch! Looks like we're going to be fucking getting much _closer_."

Sakura was beginning to question how long her sanity would last while she was with the Akatsuki.

**::**

_**6:15 PM**_

Sakura soon learned that the surrounding area of Amegakure was freaking _swampy_ and _messy_.

Of _course_ she was surprised when she realized this; she had, after all, flown to Ame with Deidara. The fact that Amegakure was 'the Land of Rain' had never really occurred to her. So, she trudged down the swampy road, feeling slightly better than before.

"Fuck, I hate traveling through Ame!" Hidan shouted, "I hate this fucking swamp and all the rain! Leader-sama had fucking better not make it start pouring on us!"

Sakura also learned that Hidan complained _constantly_.

"Tobi, un! Shut the hell up!"

And she learned that Deidara was easily annoyed by Tobi.

"But Deidara-senpai! Tobi's just so happy to be traveling with Senpai again! Tobi's having so much fun!"

And that Tobi was always excited.

But, the one thing that she already _knew_ was that she was starving.

Once they were out of the more swampy area and entering the forest, her stomach suddenly decided to let everyone within earshot know just how hungry it was. Sakura blushed as the three men's attention turned to her in surprise and slight humor. Tobi hurried to her side and took her arm, peering at her curiously behind his mask.

"Is Sakura-chan hungry?"

Deidara rolled his eyes and moved to stand next to Sakura as well. "Isn't it obvious, un?" He snapped at the masked man before giving Sakura a somewhat concerned look. "When was the last time you ate, Sakura-chan, un?"

Sakura grimace and crossed her arms over her midsection, uncomfortable with the attention she was receiving.

"Besides a plate of onigiri this morning, my last full meal was two nights ago." She murmured, surprising herself as she realized just how long it had been since she last ate. Her stomach gave another irritated growl then fell silent.

"Shit, un. You managed to battle both Kisame and Hidan on an empty stomach? No wonder you look so exhausted, un."

Hidan grunted and matched his pace with theirs, sending a glance at Sakura. "I'm fucking hungry too. Let's stop and get some chow."

"Okie dokie!" Tobi saluted then ran ahead into the trees, straying off the path and disappearing from sight. Sakura started forward. "T-tobi! Wait!"

Deidara reached forward and held her back, shooting an annoyed look after Tobi. "Just let him go, un. He's annoying but has an uncanny knack for finding food. No doubt he'll find something within the next five minutes, un."

Sakura gave the blonde an unconvinced glance but sighed and continued walking alongside him. Hidan flanked her other side, scowling ahead with a slight pout – entirely lost in his thoughts.

Just as Deidara had predicted, they heard Tobi call to them a few moments later.

"I found a river, Sakura-chan! Tobi thinks we should have fish!" His second accusation sound quite serious and they all followed his voice into the forest.

About ten minutes later, they were settled down next to the stream Tobi had found, a large (growing) pile of fish at the bank as Hidan finished fishing. He'd taken much enjoyment in stabbing fish after fish with his spike, his scythe resting against a tree by the small river. Sakura had cleaned the remaining blood on her off the best she could then gathered wood for a fire.

As Sakura started the fire, movement to her left caught her eye. She looked over to glimpse Deidara massaging his right arm, a pained grimace marring his face briefly. She frowned and approached him.

"Deidara? Something wrong with your arm?"

Hid blue eyes snapped to her face, bangs falling over his face to hide his expression somewhat. He quickly released his arm, letting it drop to his side. "Nah, un. It's nothing."

She frowned and kneeled next to him, slipping her medic mode. "No, it's not, I can tell. Let me see."

He grimaced, but relented. "It's just a cramp, un. I get them all the time, ever since I got my arm reattached, un."

Sakura glanced at his face and pulled the sleeve of his cloak back, eyes widening at what she found. Deidara's pout deepened and he looked away.

"Though, that brief tussle Kisame and I had with a bunch of Kusa-nin certainly messed up my arm a bit more, un."

Sakura stared down at the long jagged cut running down the blonde's arm for a few moments before snapping her head up to glare at him.

"You idiot! How could you just walk around with this type of injury? What if it got infected? No amount of 'reattachment' could make it useful if an infection ate through your tissue and _chakra coils_!" She immediately pulled his arm closer to her and began scanning it for any sign of contagion or further damage. Deidara grinned nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, I was gonna wait till we got back to Taki and have Kakuzu stitch it back together, un. He usually does all the doctor-shit." He inwardly sighed in a mixture of relief and pleasure as her warm chakra washed through his arm, gently knitting the skin back together.

Sakura shot him another infuriated look and punched his uninjured shoulder. "Idiot, what part of me being a medical-nin didn't you get through your thick skull? I could have healed this _hours_ ago and the cut wouldn't have gotten this bad!"

She sent another burst of chakra through him to check his vitals for any other problems. Sighing, she realized that he was low on blood and really _shouldn't_ have been moving around as much as he had without proper rest. She glanced over at Tobi, who was helping the fire grow, and called him over.

"Tobi? Could you go into my pack and get the bottle labeled 'Extra: BRP'?"

Tobi's attention snapped to her instantly and he jumped up, chirping a happy-to-please, "Sure, Sakura-chan!" and scampered over to her pack, smiling behind his mask at her happy call of thanks. Hidan waded out of the stream and plopped down in front of the fire to dry off. Tobi found the vile of blood replenishing pills and quickly brought them to Sakura. She shook one into her hand and held it up to Deidara between her forefinger and thumb, ordering him to take it.

Grinning to himself, he lowered his head quickly. Tongue darting out, he wrapped it around the pill and pulled the tablet into his mouth, inwardly wondering if he'd really detected the _slightest_ taste of strawberry on her fingertips. Sakura jumped at the movement and the sudden sensation of his tongue brushing her fingers. Deidara chuckled as she sputtered and crunched down on the pill, relaxing as she continued to heal his arm. Snorting and sending the blonde an annoyed look, she finished healing the cut and sat back, wiping his saliva off her other hand.

"Was that really necessary?"

As Deidara laughed and Tobi looked over in curiosity, Hidan glanced over to her open pack. A particular scroll caught his eye and he grinned, always one to snoop. Reaching over into Sakura's bag, he pulled the scroll out and looked it over. It appeared to have been opened and resealed recently. Still somewhat bitter at being defeated by the rosette, he grinned mischievously to himself and opened the scroll. He read the characters over with an increasingly curious and suspicious expression.

"Oi, bitch! What the hell is this!"

Sakura glanced over at him, eyes widening when she realized that he had found the scroll that Tsunade had given her – the one that contained the last-known locations of various Akatsuki.

"Um..."

With a raised eyebrow, Deidara moved next to Hidan and took the scroll, looking it over with furrowed blonde brows. After reading it for the second time, he looked up at Sakura and shot her a suspicious gaze. Tobi read over Deidara's shoulder and turned to face Sakura as well. She could feel distrust and malevolence starting to rise off the three men as their chakra spiked and they tensed.

"Why do you have a list of member's last sightings, _Sakura-chan_?" Deidara asked, stressing her name and the normally affectionate honorific with growing suspicion.

She watched them with inwardly wide eyes, attempting to calm down enough to answer his question. _'Shit! What do I do? They're getting suspicious!' _

**'**_**Calm down and play it cool, babe. Just **_**explain**_** how you got the scroll.'**_

Inwardly taking a deep breath, Sakura raised a pink eyebrow and crossed her arms.

"How do you think I found you and Hammerhead so quickly? I stole it when I left Konoha so that I could find one of you guys faster." She took a silent sigh of relief when she felt their edgy aura ebb away. "I didn't see the point in wondering around the nations for weeks when I could just sneak into the Hokage's personal file-room and get a scroll with all the information I need."

Deidara and Hidan both grinned, nodding in understanding, while Tobi immediately brightened and scurried over to the fish. Sakura sighed in relief once again, noting that she was going to have to be much more careful. While they seemed to like her well enough (she was still a little apprehensive around Hidan though) she realized that they didn't entirely trust her. _'Gaining the Akatsuki's full trust is going to be much harder than I realized.'_

**'**_**No shit, Sherlock. What? Did you expect to just be as bright and chipper as Naruto and they'd all become you're devoted mind-slaves? After what almost just happened, we won't be able to afford any more mistakes.' **_

Sakura inwardly nodded, ignoring the pang of homesickness and guilt when Inner mentioned Naruto, and joined the others as they began to cook the fish.

'_These two weeks are going to be the most important two weeks of my life. One slip up and I'm dead. If I can't convince all of the members, I'm still dead. But, if I manage to get through this, it'll all be worth it.'_

**::**

_**10:37 PM**_

After eating they'd gotten comfortable around their dwindling fire, and it was only after Sakura was certain the three men were sound asleep that she began to sneak out of the camp and to the river, inwardly wondering when Deidara and Tobi had moved to sleep on either side of her. Quietly she squirmed out from under _both_ of their arms, freezing as Deidara mumbled something along the lines of "Pink", "Art", and "Keep from Danna", in his sleep. Tobi whimpered under his breath (and through his mask) at the loss of Sakura's warmth, but she finished escaping their arms, mind traveling back to earlier.

She'd been slightly surprised to find that Hidan needed to sleep as well as eat. She'd thought that being immortal, he didn't get hungry or tired. But, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it was probably possible for Hidan to starve – just not die from it. She grimaced at the thought; even without the fear of death, food and sleep were vital to a shinobi. So, she counted her blessings that they'd all gone to sleep and turned out to be heavy sleepers.

Quietly walking across the river and deeper into the forest, Sakura found the perfect spot. She was upwind of the boys so that there was no chance of them catching scent of her blood as she bit her thumb and went through a flurry of hand seals. Slamming her hand down onto the ground, Sakura finished her summoning. There was a soft pop and small puff of smoke that quickly cleared to reveal a pale-green slug the size of her hand. Sakura smiled down at the somewhat surprised slug and waited for her to get her bearings.

The slug looked up at Sakura and brightened, her small form illuminated by the moon's light through the branches of the trees.

"Ah! Sakura-chan! It's been a while. What can I do for you?"

Sakura smiled and crouched down next to the green slug, letting her crawl onto her hand and bringing her up to her face.

"Good evening Raimu-hime. It's been a long time, hasn't it? I was wondering if you could send a message to Tsunade-shishou?"

Raimu twitched her feelers up at Sakura (the equivalent of a sluggy-smile) and nodded, letting her rub her back with a comforting finger.

"Of course, Sakura-chan. What's the message?"

Sakura grinned, it was time she reported in to Shishou.

**::**

_On the break down_

**::**

**notes**: _Gosh_, that meeting with Pein at the beginning was boring and _so freaking hard to write._

On the upside, TWO FIGHTS IN TWO CHAPTERS! HOWS THAT FOR ACTION? This one was actually a bit longer than the Kisame/Sakura fight :) How'd you guys like it compared to the other? It was _much _gorier; I really surprised myself, but I guess that was just a certain side of me that had wanted Sakura to punch _Sasuke's _head off for quite a while. I kept telling myself, all she needs is one punch, and BAM, Sasuke's down.

Konan is much too quiet. This displeases me.

Oh, and see? _See_? They don't completely trust Sakura yet! So they're not entirely _too_ distracted to completely forget their ninja-instincts!

And Sakura's still focused on her mission! No amount of smexy-men can distract her!...Well, for now at least...

Sorry if I disappointed some of you with the lack of PeinSaku! It will appear...eventually...I promise.

Yeah, the whole 'date' and 'time' thing is just to let you guys know how much time has passed between scene-changes and time skips. Not really that important but I put it there so you guys aren't _too _confused.

I've also put in subtle changes in the guys attitudes here and there to hint at their slowly growing feelings for Sakura. Anyone notice any?

Also, **I GOT MY FIRST FANART**! Thanks again to the lovely and wonderful Gigicerisier for the awesome picture which also doubled as my birthday present (my birthday was Sunday, just to let you guys know) A link to the pic in on my profile for anyone who wants to check it out and tell Gigi just how wonderful she is!

Well, hope this long chapter made up for the wait! Hope you all liked it! Remember to review (and make me a happy belated-birthday girl) :D

Reviews = Love = Happiness = Inspiration = Faster Updates = More Smiles

Create some smiles, people.

**::Thirrin73::**


	5. Chapter Four: Odorimashou: Let's Dance

**notes: **Um, so hi guys :) *dodges many pointy projectiles, bricks, and a frying pan* I _know_ it's been forever since I updated! I've just been so caught up with vacation, new plot bunnies, school, fear of my parents, and _sheer lack-of-inspiration-and-motivation/procrastination._ I kept telling myself, "I'll work on it later, for sure." but never got anywhere.

But we're here at last! And I know you are all looking forward to the chapter so this is going to be a short AN!

But first, thanks for all the belated-birthday wishes and reviews everyone. You are all so awesome and I really appreciate the love ;A; Anonymous review replies and Ode to Thanks at the bottom...

And lastly, quite a few of you were worried that Sasori wouldn't be in this story. So, I'm here to put your worries to rest by letting you know that **Sasori WILL be in this story.** In fact, I'm sure a few of you will be mildly pleased with this chapter...

Didn't get to proof-read the second-or-so-half of this chapter, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes.

So, without further prolonged stalling:_ The long awaited fourth chapter of __**Sugar Cube! **_QUITE A MONSTROUS SIZE, IF I DO SAY SO MYSELF_._

Enjoy!

**::**

_**Sugar Cube**_

_**-Chapter Four-**_

_**Odorimashou - Let's Dance**_

**::**

_What comes up must come down  
>Potential on the ground and the place shuts down<br>Say "Nooo", I say "Ohhh"_

**::**

_**November 14, 12:00 PM**_

With two of her three most trusted canine companions at the kennel resting off a strenuous mission, Hana had decided to let the last of the Haimaru brothers stay home as well while she headed out to Haruno's apartment. She was almost afraid of what she'd find; Yamanaka had said that nothing had seemed out of place, but, then again, the blonde didn't have an Inuzuka nose. Who knows how many shocking scents she'd find layered under the everyday smells of Sakura's home? Would there be hidden blood proving there'd been a struggle? Perhaps lingering poison or sedatives?

Or maybe the worst that Hana could think of: nothing at all to follow?

She really wished Kiba was there to double check her work. She wouldn't admit it to the little brat, but his nose was even better than hers.

But, what worried her most was the fact that someone had been able to sneak into the village and actually kidnap one of its most revered kunoichi. How had they done it? How had Sakura been overpowered? That monstrous strength of hers was a force to be reckoned with after all.

Hana sighed and opened the door to Sakura's apartment, inwardly thanking Ino for keeping it unlocked. The moment she stepped inside, her nose was bombarded with the smells that usually lingered in a home and the three notable scents that accompanied Haruno Sakura. Normally, the elegant mixture of vanilla, strawberry, and ever so slight cherry blossom was a real treat to Hana's nose when she happened to be in the vicinity of her fellow kunoichi, but the scent was so strong here in Haruno's home it was almost unbearable.

Thankfully, Hana had trained herself to disregard unimportant smells and sort through the different layers of scent. She meandered through the cozy apartment until she came to Sakura's bedroom, being sure not to touch anything and contaminate any evidence.

"Yamanaka mentioned that the window was open and that there was dirt on the sill; best start there." Hana mused to herself as she traversed the tidy bedroom and inspected the still open window.

She noted that under the heavy scent of Sakura, there was a lingering pinch of sweat that had the slightest bit of worry mixed in with it. Had Sakura known that someone had entered her apartment that night? Had she attempted to evade the intruder? Hana frowned as she let her gaze travel over the room, nostrils twitching as she sniffed and eyes hard.

So far, she hadn't come across any other personal odors other than Sakura's and a few stale scents that she identified as ones that belonged to local shinobi and kunoichi (most likely friends of Haruno's). This was getting fishy. Hana quickly swiveled back to the window and lowered her face as close to the sill as she dared, drawing in the lingering scents.

Her gaze narrowed further as she straightened and stepped back, looking the sill over. Indeed, she noted a small trace of dirt on the sill and (upon further inspection) she was able to make out the subtle lines of a shoeprint. Sniffing the dirt curiously, she identified it as local soil – common earth that lined the streets and bits of the Konoha training grounds mixed together to make the familiar scent.

Frowning, Hana leaned farther out the window to see if there was any more dirt but suddenly reeled backwards in shock as her nose caught a shockingly suspicious odor. Eyes wide before hardening in suspicion, Hana inspected the windowsill further and the surrounding area, coming to a mass of conclusions.

There was no other scent on the window besides Sakura's. No one else had been in the apartment. She could detect Haruno's smell both on the sill, the surrounding frame, and just outside the window. Hana was sure that, if she were to go down to the street directly below the sill, she would find some of the same smell.

"Back to the door." She murmured to herself as she bee-lined back to the entrance of the apartment. Closing her eyes, Hana sorted through all the scents of the apartment and focused her nose and mind on the most crisp and recent odor of Haruno Sakura. Once she found it and was completely fixated on it, she followed the smell throughout the house, noting that the sweat from earlier mixed in with this particular trail. Eyes snapped shut and ears closed to all sounds to heighted her sense of smell even further, she followed the invisible path, opening her eyes only when the trail stopped momentarily and the scent grew stronger.

"She came in and headed straight for the weapons cabinet in the hallway." Hana murmured as she looked the cabinet over and noticed that a few of the drawers were slightly open. Making a mental note to report to the ANBU team that she'd opened the drawers to further inspect them; the brunette pulled all the drawers out as far as they would go. Her eyes widened slightly when she realized that they were all empty. Hana could understand if there were a few missing – Sakura might have gone on a mission or out training. But the cabinet was completely _empty_. Not a single kunai or senbon. Even the stack of exploding paper-tags that she knew would be in the cabinet was gone.

Worry starting to set in again, Hana closed her eyes and continued following the scent-trail, pace quickened somewhat.

"She stopped in the kitchen next, but only went into a few of the overhead cabinets." She muttered, opening the cabinets hurriedly to find them mostly empty. She gathered that they once held jerky, energy bars, and other light traveling foods. The other cabinet was probably Sakura's medical cupboard (since she found a stray roll of gauze in the far corner), but it was shockingly empty of supplies as well.

This was starting to get serious.

Hana quickly turned from the cabinets and followed the smells again, her careful walk turning into a panicked jog.

"Haruno went to her room next. More specifically her closet." Hana found the small closet devoid of most of its clothes and a quick trip into the bathroom confirmed that a few of Sakura's necessary toiletry were missing as well. She followed the trail back to the front door, noting that the scent was strongest at the lock on the door.

"She locked her door from the inside and then," She paused, nose twitching as she sniffed the air. "And then, she headed back to her bedroom." Starting to breathe heavily in worry, she found that the path led to the window and out to the street below. Determined to follow what was left, Hana leaped out the window and landed on the street in a crouch. Pedestrians shot her a few curious glances, but the brunette paid them no mind and quickly followed the softly lingering trail Sakura had unknowingly left.

Hana raced down the road, completely focused on the scent, until she suddenly skidded to a halt and realized that she'd reached the gates. Eyes wide in shock, she gazed out into the surrounding forest and road, panting to herself.

Hana quickly turned on her heel and raced towards the Hokage's tower, mind reeling. _'I've got to report this to Tsunade-sama.'_

The trail led out into the forest and away from the village.

This wasn't good.

**::**

_**12:15 PM**_

After visiting the stone memorial, Kakashi had immediately headed back to the Hokage tower. He figured she'd want to talk to him about the current predicament they were in and he had a few questions for her as well.

When Tsunade had realized that it was Kakashi at the door, she'd let her serious Hokage-face slip away to let her inner worry show. He'd stopped in front of her desk and started to say something but she held up a hand and interrupted him.

"Yes, I know. Kidnapping wasn't on the agenda."

Kakashi frowned under his mask and leaned against her desk. "How long do you think it'll be before someone figures out she wasn't kidnapped?"

She leaned back and bit her thumb-nail. "Soon. Probably. I doubt the whole kidnapping scenario will last long, though I'm sure quite a few of Sakura's closest friends won't believe she left on her own freewill." Tsunade sighed and crossed her arms. "Pity. Kidnapping could have worked to our advantage."

Kakashi nodded and glanced out the window behind her. "Still, there's always the chance that no one'll figure it out for a few more days. Maybe even a week."

Tsunade smiled to herself, fond on the idea of Sakura receiving more time.

Suddenly, there was a hurried knock at the door and she quickly called for whoever was there to enter. Inuzuka Hana barreled through the door and stopped before her desk, panting heavily and eyes somewhat wide in a flurry of emotion.

"Tsunade-sama! I don't think Haruno Sakura was kidnapped!" She had a slight snarl to her tone and Kakashi couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

'_Or maybe she'll be found out almost instantly.'_

**::**

_**11:03 PM**_

"Hatake."

"Hai Tsunade-sama?"

"I've been wondering." She muttered, hand at her chin as she thought. "Why didn't Hana-san notice _your_ scent at Sakura's apartment? Or at the gates?"

He looked contemplative for a moment before speaking. He'd been in Tsunade's office for most of the day (ever since Hana had reported in her suspicion of Sakura leaving by herself), only occasionally leaving so as to not arouse suspicion, and hadn't thought much about _that_ particular oddity either.

"I was wearing my ANBU uniform." He stated and, at the blonde's raised eyebrow, explained. "All Konoha ANBU-issued clothing, armor, masks, and weapons have a simple, undetectable, _unknown_, and long-lasting genjutsu placed on them that keeps scents and chakra-trails from being left behind. Exactly for the purpose of evading trackers as good as the Inuzuka's."

Tsunade leaned forward and shot him a slightly surprised look. "So, there's no way anyone will be able to detect any traces of you helping Sakura that night?" At his nod she smirked halfheartedly to herself, "Well, that's a relief." They might have not been able to keep Sakura defection a secret for long, but at least the mission wasn't in jeopardy. Kakashi resisted the urge to reach into his hip pouch and pull out his copy of _Icha_ _Icha _and leaned against the wall behind her.

"What do you plan on doing next?"

She thought for a moment before answering. "An ANBU team will probably have to be sent to Sakura's home and then I'll assign a tracking team to head out into the forest." She glanced over her shoulder at him. "You'll be assigned captain, Kakashi. But, once you and the team reach the border, turn around and head back here. You'll make a show of reporting that she'd headed into one of the different countries then I'll have word sent to Suna to be on the lookout for Haruno Sakura."

Kakashi nodded and she continued. "I'll wait a few days before proclaiming her rouge and then have two hunter teams sent out, one of which you'll be captain of. I'm sure Sakura set a few false trails, so two teams should be enough." She paused, turning contemplative as her hand rose to her chin. "The teams will stay out for approximately four days and then return to Konoha. By then, Naruto and his team will probably be returning, those bratty over-achievers."

"And then all hell breaks loose." Kakashi mumbled, already imagining how the blonde would react.

Tsunade nodded and leaned back in her chair. "Yes. But, by then, Sakura will hopefully be as far as Iwa or maybe even farther, and well on her way to finding an Akatsuki member."

He chuckled, shaking his head to himself. "Knowing Sakura-chan, she'll probably have already found one of them and convinced them to let her join by then."

The blonde smiled fondly and chortled as well. "Most likely."

With a good grasp on what would be to come in the following weeks, Kakashi readied to leave and head home. But, before he could bid the Hokage adieu, there was a small pop and a poof of smoke appeared on Tsunade's desk.

They both jumped inwardly, but relaxed when the smoke cleared to reveal a small pale-green slug. Kakashi returned his kunai to his pouch and watched silently as the slug turned to Tsunade and bowed slightly.

"Raimu-hime?" Tsunade murmured as recognition settled in. The slug nodded and bowed once more.

"Hai Tsunade-sama. I-"

She was interrupted, however, as Tsunade suddenly sat up in her seat and a broad grin broke out across her face.

"You have news from, Sakura! Don't you?" The blonde exclaimed as she leaned forward in her seat with excited eyes. Kakashi was instantly at her side as well, beaming hopefully under his mask.

"I-indeed, Tsunade-sama." Raimu said in slight surprise, feelers twitching. "Sakura-chan reports that earlier this morning she came across Deidara and Hoshigaki Kisame of the Akatsuki and confronted them. She has fought against and defeated not only Hoshigaki Kisame, as a test to prove she was serious about joining the Akatsuki, but Hidan of the Akatsuki as well, as a show of her strength to the organization's leader." She paused as she noticed their shocked expressions, but continued with a slight stutter.

"Sh-she is now on her way to one of the Akatsuki's bases in the company of members Deidara, Hidan, and Tobi. She has been granted permission to join the organization, but only if she can convince the other members of her value." Raimu paused again and twitched her feelers, sending a sluggy-smile up at the two. "She also says that she misses everyone and," She turned slightly to Tsunade. "Asked me to send her love to you, Tsunade-sama," She turned to Kakashi next. "And you, Hatake-san."

Bowing once more, she relaxed and let her words sink in. The two exchanged glances and broke out into wide overjoyed smiles.

"Then again, Sakura could, by some amazing occurrence, manage to already gain access to the Akatsuki and be _days_ ahead of where we thought she'd be." Kakashi muttered to himself, continuing his earlier thoughts, and shook his head fondly in thought of his student.

Tsunade leaned back in her chair and grinned. "That's my girl."

Basking in the happy feelings and thoughts in the room, Raimu turned back to the blonde and spoke again. "Sakura-chan also requested that you not send me immediately back to her, but give me your message and I would deliver it to her the next time she summons me."

The blonde nodded and reached out a finger to rub a thankful finger over the slugs back. "Thank you for this, Raimu-hime. We are all extremely grateful for this." She said softly, smiling down at the lightly blushing slug.

"Oh! I-it's no problem at all, Tsunade-sama. I feel honored to be assisting both you and Sakura-chan. Mother will be proud." Raimu replied as Tsunade nodded seriously.

"Indeed she will. I'll be sure to personally tell Katsuyu-sama how well you are doing and how thankful I am for your help." The slug brightened and Tsunade smiled, glancing over at Kakashi.

"Are you ready for my message for Sakura?" She asked the small slug.

Raimu nodded and turned all her attention to the woman. "Of course, Tsunade-sama."

Both she and Kakashi grinned, ecstatic to be communicating with Sakura so soon and so proud of how wonderfully she was doing.

**::**

_**November 17, 9:13 AM**_

The following two days after they set out for Taki had been both awkward yet entertaining. After waking up the morning after summoning Raimu to find herself curled up against Hidan's chest (Tobi and Deidara were laying sprawled on either side of the two, as if they'd been flung from her side during the night), Sakura had never thought she'd _ever_ grow fond of the foul-mouth man. Apparently, Hidan had been just as surprised to find himself sleeping next to her as she was and they had fallen into an heavy silence until Deidara and Tobi had woken up, the former grumbling about a stiff neck while the latter had wondered aloud why "Sakura-chan and Hidan-san are glaring at each other so scarily. Did something happen?"

Deidara's attention had immediately snapped to the two and Hidan had turned his glare from Sakura to the blonde as he glowered at the silver-haired man as well. With her mood quickly on its way to taking a turn for the worse, Sakura had decided that it'd be best if they just continued on their journey and pretend as if nothing had happened. She'd packed quickly, Tobi immediately at her side to help her, and headed in the direction of Taki, fully intent on ignoring Hidan.

Unfortunately, ignoring him proved to be much harder than she originally thought and Sakura eventually decided to just give up and let herself get to know him much like she did with Deidara and Tobi.

Apparently, Hidan was funny.

No. Really.

After surprising herself by giggling at his comment of how he hated squirrels, "Them and their stupid fucking nuts.", she'd found herself laughing at more and more of his comments and jokes. The fact that he was purposefully trying to get her to laugh after the first accident had never occurred to her, so she became all the more confused (yet amused) when Deidara started shooting the Jashinist more and more frequent glares and adding in his own remarks to make Sakura laugh.

After the first day, they'd entered Kusa in a somewhat happy and much friendlier mood. And, by the time they reached Taki, Sakura had completely changed her opinion of Hidan and actually enjoyed traveling with him. She'd grown even fonder of Deidara and Tobi was effectively worming his way into her heart with his oddly adorable antics.

Unfortunately, the group's happy mood fell somewhat when the rain started.

"How much farther is it to the base Deidara?" Sakura called over the heavy rain as they meandered down a worn footpath through a (now muddy) grassy field. She was extremely grateful her cloak had a hood, but the occasional gust of wind managed to rip the protection of the hood away from her face and leave her drenched. They were all soaked from head to toe and Sakura made mental note to check each of the boys' systems when they got to the base to make sure they didn't get sick. Hidan's teeth were chattering (despite his efforts to hide it) and Sakura remembered that, under his cloak, he was shirtless. Of course, _how _she'd come to know this little fact was completely irrelevant.

During their journey, she'd gathered enough courage to ask him more about his religion and his apparent immortality. Hidan had been absolutely thrilled when she'd brought it up and had proceeded to inform of the wonders of Jashinism. She'd been surprised to find that he could get sick like any other person, but not when she had learned that he was unable to die from the more deadly of diseases.

Deidara looked absolutely miserable with his mass of hair hanging around his face in wet clumps and weighing him down even more than his cloak. Of course, he was more concerned with his clay getting wet and ruined. He peered ahead through the rain before answering her.

"You see that dark blur in the distance, un?"

Sakura squinted and could just barely make out the dark blob still miles ahead. "Yeah, I see it."

"It's a small mountain range. The base is hidden inside and the entrance behind a waterfall, un. The mountains circle around a small valley that we've got a genjutsu over." She glanced over at him with a single eyebrow raised and he continued. "The base is there in the valley, un. Thanks to the genjutsu, even if someone was to fly over it they'd only see more mountain."

He grinned over at her here at her impressed expression. "There's a village at the base of the range on the other side, un, but no one ever travels into the mountains because its infested with over-sized beasts."

Hidan smirked and glanced over at her. "The things are fucking monsters, seriously. I get a real kick out of beating the shit out of one. All fucking toothy and razor-sharp claws." He brought his hands up and flexed his fingers in example. "That's why it's called the Yajuu Range."

Deidara nodded. "The locals in the village, Denbun, un, always warn travelers and we've got an agreement with them that if they spread vicious rumors about the beasts and the mountains and keep the fact that there's an Akatsuki base there a secret we'll protect the village and get our supplies from them rather than travel to one of the larger villages farther away."

"Everyone in Denbun is so nice!" Tobi exclaimed. It seemed that not even the rain could get him down and he seemed just as happy as ever. "The festivals are always so big and fun!"

Sakura smiled while Deidara glanced over at her and continued.

"Anyways, it looks like a long ways away, but we could get there in little under an hour if we ran the rest of the way, un. What do you think, Sakura-chan?"

She grimaced and quickly answered. "Let get the hell out of this rain boys."

Both Deidara and Hidan grinned while Tobi gave a delighted whoop and they all took off, the large drops of rain pelting their faces even harder and the wind lashing at them. Though Sakura was looking forward to getting out of this awful weather, she was still apprehensive about meeting the other members that would be there. She figured that Kisame would still be at the base (and that wasn't too bad of a thought) but Hidan had mentioned Kakuzu being in Taki as well. If Kisame was there, Itachi would probably be at the base as well.

'_That leaves Zetsu. I wonder where he is. I still need to thank him for recommending me to Leader-sama, I owe me getting this far to him.'_

'_**Don't worry doll, I bet plant-boy will be making his way to the base soon as well.'**_

Sakura couldn't help but smile at Inner's words and sent a burst of chakra to her legs to speed up, ignoring the wind and rain.

**::**

Sakura took a moment to stare up at the cascading waterfall in awe, enjoying the light spray of water much more than the pelting drops of rain. She bounced along with the rolling waves and continued to balance out her chakra in her feet. The pond that the waterfall fed into was of decent size and a river snaked off into the distance. She was sure the sight would have looked much more beautiful had the sky been clear and the sun shining. Unfortunately, with the still pouring rain and gloomy sky, it left the waterfall looking much more ominous than lovely. All it needed was a stay bolt of lightning and the mood would be set.

Tobi was quick to take her arm and lead her towards the waterfall, saying that this was "Tobi's favorite part." The two followed after Hidan and passed through the flowing water quickly, Deidara right behind them. The pressure of the waterfalls force lasted only a second and Sakura soon found herself standing in front of a plain wooden door.

She raised an eyebrow at the three men and they shrugged in answer. She'd expected something much more elaborate. Deidara stepped forward and knocked on the door. Sakura felt a flare of chakra as his knuckles connected with the wood and then the sound of tumblers falling into place and deadbolts sliding reached her ears. A seal appeared briefly on the door before disappearing in a flash of blue. He shot her a grin over his shoulder and opened the door, holding it open for her.

She giggled at the chivalry and walked forward, eyes darting around in the darkness. She appeared to be in a hallway, but the lack of light didn't give her much to go by. She felt the others enter the hallway as well and then heard the distinctive click of the door shutting.

"Just walk forward, un." She heard Deidara say. "It'll take a few minutes to get through here."

She nodded apprehensively to herself, muttering an unconvinced "Okay." under her breath. As she walked, she became incredibly tense. All her instincts were telling her to be on her guard and the fact that she was walking down a dark hallway _inside_ a mountain was really starting to make her claustrophobic.

She heard Hidan grumbling to himself and Tobi humming happily. Deidara remained silent, but she could hear the slight sound of his still damp hair swishing from side to side as he walked as well. They'd been walking for about five minutes when she finally saw a small crack of light up ahead.

Suddenly, Tobi was at her side and reaching for her hand. She forced herself not to jump and glanced over in his direction in surprise as he wrapped his hand around hers securely and tugged her faster down the hallway, eventually forcing her to break out in a run to keep up with him.

"Come on Sakura-chan!" He chirped happily and Sakura had the distinctive suspicion that he was grinning at her from behind his mask. She heard both Hidan and Deidara curse some ways down the corridor and then the sound of sandals scrapping against stone as they chased after her and Tobi.

"T-tobi! Slow down!" She cried out but his only response was a deep chuckle that sounded _nothing_ like the Tobi she knew. He pulled her closer to him and continued to race towards the rapidly nearing beams of light. She squeaked and thought they'd slam into what appeared to be another door, but Tobi flicked his wrist at the last moment and the door opened just in time for the two to barrel out into rain again, skidding to a halt and kicking up mud.

It took Sakura a moment to get her bearings, but, by then, Tobi was already slinging an arm over her shoulder and chirping happily to her.

"Wasn't that fun, Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed, paying the rain no mind. "Tobi thinks that walk is too long and boring, so I always run the last part of it!"

As Sakura smiled weakly at Tobi and cursed at the rain, Deidara and Hidan finally appeared behind them. They both attempted to shove the other out of the way to get through the door first and eventually managed to join Tobi and Sakura, glares being shot between the two men. With an eyebrow raised, Sakura turned and studied the building before her.

From her perspective, it looked neither large nor small, but she had a feeling it was bigger than it looked. It seemed slightly out of place in the valley formed by the high-rises of earth and rock surrounding them. Sakura had half expected someone to be waiting for them, but it appeared even the Akatsuki didn't like to get soaked unless completely necessary. The four approached the door of the building and Tobi immediately darted forward and flung open the door to race inside, shouting to everyone within earshot.

"Tobi's home!"

Deidara sighed irritably to himself and followed after him. Hidan was still muttering profanities under his breath. Sakura sighed in relief once she was inside, out of the rain and steadily growing warmer. She found herself smiling as Deidara took her cloak off from her shoulders to hand on a rack next to the door, shooting her a wide grin before ushering her down a hallway and into a room on the left. She nodded in thanks and ran a hand through her unruly hair, realizing that the rain had darkened it a few shades. It looked more magenta than pink now and laid about her face in dripping tangles. She was seriously wishing she'd get to take a hot shower soon and found her gaze traveling over what appeared to be a living room.

Tobi had disappeared (but she swore she heard the sound of pots and pans clattering somewhere to her right) and Deidara was taking stock of his clay. Hidan had flopped down on a couch and let his eyes close, uncaring that he was soaking the furniture.

The pinkette was about to ask Deidara where she'd be staying in the building but the sound of footsteps and angered grumbling met her ears.

"_Brat_, what took you so long? I thought you were supposed to be here with Kisame two days ago. And why the hell did you bring that _nuisance_ with you?"

Deidara looked mildly irritated at the words and Sakura felt a strange sense of recognition wash over her.

It wasn't until a head of crimson hair rounded a corner and stopped in the room that she realized why.

She froze, eyes widening in horror while her blood ran cold. Dread, terror, and a small drop of rage ran rampant through her and suddenly all the nightmares she'd had for months so many years ago came flooding back to her. _Of course_. Why hadn't she realized it earlier? If they'd brought back not only Deidara, but Kakuzu and Uchiha Itachi as well, it was obvious that _he'd_ be alive as well.

Sakura guessed that it had been her own inner defense system that had completely refused to acknowledge the possibility of Akasuna no Sasori being resurrected.

And yet, there he was.

Sending her the most confused and curious of looks.

Sasori let his bored gaze travel from the rain-soaked girl to his equally drenched partner, expression morphing into a look of exasperation and he massaged his temples.

"Deidara. Despite wondering what you could have _possibly_ been thinking in bringing some," He glanced back over at her here, "_Girl_ to one of our bases, I don't have time to clean up any of your messes, so I'll leave you to your _guest_."

Sakura felt oddly insulted that he hadn't recognized her and her feelings of fright were being pushed to the back of her mind as anger took its place. Deidara seemed just as peeved as the pinkette and snorted at Sasori.

"She's not just some random girl, Danna, un. Sakura-chan's as much your guest as mine. In fact, she's to be the Akatsuki's newest member, un, so you'd better get used to having her around." The blonde replied, slinging an arm over her shoulders. The red-heads face contorted into confusion as he repeated her name under his breath, inwardly wondering where he'd heard it before.

Sakura tilted her chin up and sent him a flaming glare, letting her hatred rather than fear for him show. "I'm kind of offended you haven't recognized me yet, puppet boy." She said while Deidara grinned. Hidan looked over at them from his place on the couch and inwardly wondered why he sensed a sudden flare of bloodlust.

It was then that Sasori's eyes widened in recognition before narrowing in unveiled fury.

"_You_!"

She held her clenched fist up, letting the familiar blue glow encompass her hand. "There we go! I've wanted to deal another punch to your pretty face for _ages_." She snarled and it occurred to Deidara that letting the two occupy the same room might have been a bad idea.

One moment Sasori was glaring venomously at her and the next he had a poison-dripping kunai in hand and was slicing the knife at her neck. Sakura easily dodged and was about to send a chakra laden punch at the red-head when she suddenly found a strong arm wrapped around her waist and holding her back. Hidan grunted as he attempted to keep her from attacking Sasori and seriously wished he was holding her for different reasons entirely. Across from the two, Deidara also struggled to hold back his partner and was inwardly wondering why _Hidan_ was restraining the (beautifully) enraged rosette.

"You little _brat_." Sasori hissed, "Do you have any _idea _how many valuable and _irreplaceable_ puppets you destroyed with that _barbaric_ strength you pride?"

Sakura audibly growled and attempted to squirm her way out of Hidan's hold. "Well _excuse_ me for having a fucking sense of self-preservation! And who are you calling barbaric?" She exclaimed, "_You're_ the one who turns corpses into creepy puppets, you deranged block of fucking wood!"

Hidan cursed under his breath as he tightened his grip on her waist. Why wouldn't she stop _squirming_? As if her temper and foul-mouth wasn't turning him on enough. He was just about ready to throw the rosette over his shoulder and head to his room, leaving the blonde to deal with the fucking puppet. _Damn_, she was fucking _strong _for someone so small. Hidan could vaguely recall her mentioning something about an axe. _Fuck_. If that wasn't badass he didn't know what was.

"Call my art barbarous all you want, _little girl_." Sasori said in a deceptively calm voice, his fawn-colored eyes piercing into her own emerald. "But _you_ are going to be the latest addition to my collection. You'll _wish_ I'd killed you back in that cave the _moment_ I get started." He continued to glare hatefully at her, "I think I'll start by gauging out to your eyes!"

He started forward, but Deidara managed to keep a tight grip on his arms and hold him back, sending an irritated look at the red-head.

"You _can't_ kill her, Sasori, un! She has a _purpose_ here!"

He growled and let his glower dart back to Deidara. "On _who's_ orders, brat?"

"Leader-sama's actually." All eyes snapped to the wall to see the torso of Zetsu sticking out of the wall. He grinned at the surprised faces and continued, sending a look at Sasori. "So, it'd be best if **you fucking left the blossom alone, **Sasori**-**san."

Sakura beamed up at the dual-colored man, ceasing her quest to escape Hidan's arms and relaxing in his arms. "Zetsu-san! I was hoping I'd see you again."

He grinned over at her and nodded in her direction, his attention turning back to the others (namely Sasori) momentarily. "Leader-sama says that Haruno Sakura is not to be intentionally harmed by anyone. As Deidara-san said, she is our guest." His grin took a turn for the terrifying as he slowly morphed back into the wall. "At least, **until her two weeks are up, that is**."

At his last words before disappearing entirely, Sakura was once again reminded that, despite how they might have acted towards her, she was still far from gaining the Akatsuki's full trust. After a few moments she slipped out of Hidan's hold and she crossed her arms, sending an irritated glare in Sasori's direction before sending a weak smile at Deidara who'd released his partner once he was sure he wasn't going to attack the rosette again.

"Could you show me to the bathroom Deidara? I'm dying for shower." She could practically _feel_ Hidan's grin and quickly shot him a look over her shoulder that all but screamed,_ "And no, you can't join me Hidan."_

His face visibly fell but he quickly recovered, sending her a wink and muttering something about "Maybe not this time." He turned down one of the hallways, his shout carrying back to them. "Oi! Kaku-fucker! Did'ja fucking miss me or what?"

Sasori was still glaring hotly at her but, with an irritated growl, he disappeared back down the hallway he'd come, shooting Deidara a glower as well. The blonde laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"Ah, don't mind Danna, un. He's only been revived recently and has been really moody lately. 'Left him in a kind of weak state since he's been dead for, what? Three years now, un?" He shrugged and reached for her arm, grinning down at her. "Not in as bad a state as the Uchiha, but he's pissier than I remember, un."

Sakura grimaced to herself and shouldered her pack as he led her out of the room and down one of the many hallways connected from there, inwardly cursing when she realized that Zetsu had left too quickly for her to properly thank him. "Anyways, let me show you to your room, m'lady."

She giggled under her breath and glanced around the corridor. Every twenty feet or so a door stood on either side of the hallway. Deidara named off the different rooms and their occupants as they passed, going over a few important guidelines.

"Most of the bedrooms are in this hallway, un. I'll spread word around to the others that Leader-sama said to leave you alone." He glanced down at her and smiled, "No one should bother you much, Sakura-chan, un. But if anyone does, feel free to knock them on their ass." His gaze turned back to the doors briefly, "Just try not to go into a room unannounced and you should be fine, un."

He stopped in front of one of the doors and opened it, sending a quick glance inside. "Here, this'll be your room. We've got a few extra 'cause it's rare that everyone's here at once, but I think this is one of the unoccupied ones." He stepped back and sent her a grin. "I'll give you a deluxe tour of the place later, un."

Sakura was about to reply when she heard a door open and close behind her and then a pair of muscular arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground. She squeaked and attempted to twist her way out of the hold but then heard a familiar deep chuckle sound from behind.

"Good to see you're still alive and kickin', Kitten!" Kisame said as he grinned down at her, dropping the pinkette back onto her feet. Blinking in surprise before brightening, she spun around and sent him a grin of her own, quickly hugging him as well.

"Hammerhead! It's good to see you too!"

He grinned down at her and rested his large hand on her head; whether it was out of affection or just to peeve her with the apparent height difference was completely lost to Sakura. "So, how'd it go in Ame?" It was apparent to Kisame that she'd been allowed to join the Akatsuki, but he was interested in hearing how it had all gone down.

Sakura made a face as she stepped back and swatted his hand away from her head. "Well, I'm technically an honorary member of the Akatsuki, but I've got a little less than two weeks to try and convince all the members that I should become a full member."

Kisame chuckled and Deidara took the moment to add in his own comment.

"And, she beat the shit out of Hidan, un."

His laugh reverberated down the hallway as he clapped a hand to Sakura shoulder. "Nice going Kitten!"

She grinned up at him before sending a wistful look towards her new room. "I'll tell you all about it later Hammerhead, but I'm seriously craving a shower and a nap right about now. See ya' later?"

He gave her a lopsided grin and nodded, pulling her to him for one last one-armed hug. His face twisted slightly, however, and he sent her a curious look.

"Damn Kitten, you're soaked. I thought cats hated water." He chuckled once more and released her, turning back down the hallway. "Catcha later Kitten."

She sent him an idle salute and looked over at Deidara. "I'll come looking for you when I'm done. 'Kay?"

He nodded, "Just don't get lost, un!"

Once he was out of sight, Sakura turned to her room. Unsurprisingly, it was vaguely empty; with a bed, closet, shelf, and desk-with-chair the only furnishings. The closet space was small but large enough for the clothes she'd brought. She only hoped everything in her pack wasn't _too_ ruined by the rain. Opening a door in the far left corner, Sakura stepped into her personal bathroom; complete with toilet, sink, shower, and linen cabinet. Grinning from ear to ear, Sakura tossed her pack to the side and pulled one of the towels out of the cupboard.

It was made of black fluffy cotton and Sakura slung it over her shoulder while she took stock of her belongings. Fortunately, the rain hadn't soaked in too far and most of her things were still dry. Pulling out one of her red tank-tops and baggy black capris, she put the chosen clothes to the side and left the bathroom to hang the rest in the closet. Dispersing the rest of her belongings in their appropriate places throughout the room and bathroom, Sakura turned the water on in the shower and quickly stripped.

She groaned in bliss thanked Kami she'd brought her shampoo and body wash. She let the hot water soak into her skin and work away all the soreness in her muscles. What was left of the blood from her fight with Hidan also washed off and down the drain, leaving Sakura to check the pale scar on her shoulder. In a few weeks' time, the scar would disappear completely.

Sakura hummed to herself as she lathered up her hair and enjoyed her shower. Almost ten minutes later, she stepped out completely refreshed and in a much better mood than before. She dried off and dressed quickly then stepped out into the hallway. Running a hand through her much less damp hair, Sakura followed back down the path to the entrance of the building. She doubted that tour Deidara had mentioned would take too long and planned on taking a nap as soon as they were done. After all, how big could the base be?

**::**

Well, _shit._

Apparently, the base was _huge_.

Deidara had taken her down most of the many twisting hallways (explaining that a few of them were just decoys for intruders to get lost in) and around most of the surrounding area of the base. She was pretty sure that if she were to lose her way inside the building, she'd never find her way out. Then again, she could always punch through wall after wall until she got outside. She'd made a mental note to always have someone like Tobi or Deidara with her when she went deeper into the base and began to memorize the blonde's chakra signature as he led her outside. Behind the base was an expanse of flat land with a few stray trees here and there. He told her that this was usually used as a training ground by the members.

Nearly an hour after they had started the tour, Sakura and Deidara returned to the living room-like are of the base. She had been trying to find a way to word her feelings toward the sheer enormous size of the base when Deidara suddenly sneezed, his cheeks slightly red and beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead.

She nearly slapped herself for forgetting her mental note to check Deidara, Hidan, and Tobi over for any signs of fever and then practically pounced on the unsuspecting blonde, her hands flying to his face. Sakura checked his temperature while he sent her a disturbed look.

"Geez Sakura-chan, un. I only sneezed. It's not like I'm sick, un." He muttered, face turning a deeper shade of red. She snorted and sat back, flaring a net of her chakra out unnoticeably to locate Hidan and Tobi.

"Actually, you are. You've got a fever and your current state of blood-loss and exhaustion is favorable playing grounds for flu's and colds."

He snorted and crossed his arms behind his head while she stepped back, taking note of Tobi and Hidan's locations. "Well, just do your medic-thing and fix me up, un."

Sakura frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "That's just it, I can't." At his confused look she continued. "I can't _heal_ a virus. The best I can do is make sure you stay warm and get plenty of rest. The fever will have to burn itself out and _then_ I can purge your system for any lingering traces of sickness."

She closed her eyes for a moment concentrate on Hidan and Tobi's chakra signatures. Hidan's was a soft lull that hummed at her fingertips, signaling that he was asleep. She decided to leave him be and focused on Tobi. Nothing in his chakra signature seemed out of place so she presumed he was fine.

Opening her eyes, she regarded Deidara with her I-know-what's-best-look she had adopted after years of handling not only a stubborn Kakashi and Naruto (who both refused to go to the hospital) but also Yamato and Sai.

"Bed. Now." She ordered, fists planted firmly on her hips. Deidara pouted up at her and shifted in the recliner. Behind her, Sasori entered the room and sat down at one end of the couch. He shot a glare at Sakura's back while he fiddled with what appeared to be fingers to one of his puppets, muttering something along the lines of, "Poor lighting in my room, better here." Under his breath. She ignored the red-head and continued to stare the blonde down.

"Sleep is the best way to help the fever break and regain what chakra you lost. Now, off to bed with you." Sakura said, nodding her head towards the hallway. Deidara's pout deepened and he unfolded his arms from behind his head and crossed them over his chest.

"You sound like my mother, un. Besides, Sakura-chan, I'm not tired!"

She snorted and eyed him. "_You're_ acting like a _child_." She sent him a reproachful look, gesturing to herself. "I'm not your mother, no. But I _am_ your _doctor_ now. And I say you need rest, whether you're tired or not."

Deidara grimaced but slowly nodded, accepting defeat. But, rather than get up and trudge down the hall to his room, he moved in his seat until he was sprawled over the armrests. He grinned up at her as she sputtered, interrupting her before she could say anything.

"I'll sleep, un. But, as long as _you two_," He sent a meaningful glance behind her to his partner, "Are in the same room, I'm staying around to make sure you don't kill each other, un." He nodded seriously and smiled up at her. Sakura frowned but didn't argue. Turning back to the couch, she sat as far away from the red-head as she could, sending Deidara a deadpan look as she waited for him to go to sleep. Shooting her one last grin, he leaned back and let his eyelids flutter shut. She waited a few moments before turning slightly and confronting Sasori's glare with one of her own.

It was silent in the room as the two scowled at each other, emerald and fawn-brown clashing dangerously.

After a few minutes, Sakura spoke, her voice sharp and crisp.

"I dislike you."

He eyed her with identical irritation.

"And I _hate_ you." He paused, "Little girl."

Sakura bristled, but Deidara's voice interrupted her retort.

"Oh, come off it you two, un." He snapped, arm thrown over his eyes. "Just set aside your past and differences already, un, and get over yourselves." Sakura snorted and she found herself sending an indignant thumb-jerk in the puppet master's direction.

"He tried to _kill _me."

Deidara sighed and glanced under his arm at her. "Yeah, and that was _how_ many years ago, un? Do me a favor and try to get along." He sent her a disarming and pleading smile. "Please, Sakura-chan, un? For me?"

Sakura grimaced but couldn't help the sigh that rose through her as she nodded. Deidara's smile brightened and he promptly fell asleep, suddenly exhausted.

It was only after the blonde started snoring lightly that Sasori spoke, glaring once more at her as he whispered furiously.

"_You __**succeeded**_ in killing _me_." He hissed. Sakura glared right back at him.

"Correction. I _aided_ in your defeat. Chiyo-obaa-sama delivered the final blow."

Sasori scowled and crossed his arms.

"_You_ destroyed nearly half of my collection, _including_ a few extremely rare and one-of-a-kind pieces that will be impossible to replace."

Sakura snorted but he continued, speaking slowly to stress his words while his gaze darkened.

"And the rest of my puppets were all lost when I died. Do you have any idea how long it will take to develop even a _tenth_ of that collection, little girl? Thanks to _you_, I no longer have the time or resources to begin my collection _all over again_." He was practically _steaming_ by the time he finished but Sakura merely scoffed and crossed her arms.

"As if. You're practically _immortal_; you have all the time in the world, puppet-man."

Suddenly, Sasori's face became extremely guarded and blank. His mouth snapped shut and he sat back, silence falling over him.

Sakura eyed him in confusion, wondering why he had reacted so strangely. Rather than question why he had suddenly clammed up, she turned from him and sighed. She glanced around the room but then reached into her medical pouch, bored with not having something to stimulate her mind. She pulled a small, slightly thick, worn book out of the pack at her hip and opened to a page towards the middle, soon completely immersed in the text.

Off to her left, Sasori seemed to snap out of his reverie. He shot another glare at the preoccupied rosette and inwardly raged, wooden digits lying forgotten on the table beside the couch. She _infuriated _him, this _little girl_ who had somehow managed to defeat him. How could this mere slip of a girl manage to elicit reactions out of him? Ones he'd only ever experienced when Deidara was wasting his time or they were arguing over their views of art. Even emotions he couldn't even begin to recognize.

He allowed his gaze to travel over her form, assessing her appearance. It was obvious that the kunoichi had changed since their confrontation those three years ago. She'd grown slightly taller, but was still short compared to others. Her face had lost its slight roundness, now more angular and heart-shaped. Her skin was pale and creamy, only a tone darker than he remembered. She possessed the slim, toned body that all kunoichi had, but still retained her womanly curves. He noted that her pink hair was a shade lighter than before and found his attention moving to her eyes.

_Those eyes_. They were the exact same sparkling emerald that he remembered from the years before and earlier today when he had come face to face with her. His frown deepened, remembering how he hadn't recognized her, what with her rain-darkened hair and more grown up appearance. It was the moment he had seen those burning pools of green fire that he knew who she was.

Sasori had to admit, despite the fact that he loathed her for defeating him and destroying so many of his puppets, the girl _did_ have a few redeeming qualities. Her mind, for one, was intriguing. She had not only deciphered his fighting patterns, but had also created an antidote to his poison. _No_ _one_ had _ever_ achieved anything like that before. _Hell_, he wasn't even sure _he_ had a precise enough antidote to his poison. She was obviously a medical prodigy. And, while he usually preferred quick and silent gracefulness, that strength of hers was astonishing.

With another glance at her, Sasori found himself inwardly confessing that he found those _eyes_ the most interesting. They expressed her every thought and emotion, but she remained an enigma to him. Her mesmerizing green orbs were a constant and he was sure that, over time, they would still never change. They were, in every right, eternal.

'_A true work of art.'_

Sasori paused in his musings and blinked in surprise. He shook his head free of these thoughts and let his gaze idly travel down to her hands as the sound of crisp paper brushing skin met his ears. His eyes caught the _familiar_ title of the book and his brows furrowed, sending her a slightly surprised glance.

"You read Koke Irui's texts?"

Her eyes snapped to his face as she jumped slightly. Her finger moved to mark her place as she nodded slowly.

"Yes, I'm fond of his medical teachings for treating poisoned and infected wounds." She paused, folding her legs up under her as her face turned somewhat pink. "I, ah, always keep a copy of his book with me if I need to consult it on the field or to read when I'm bored." She blinked and raised an eyebrow at him.

"You are familiar with Koke Irui's works?"

Sasori grunted and glanced away in unexpected embarrassment. "Yes. His work with poisons intrigued me when I was younger and inspired me to use my own poison on my puppets."

Sakura's brows shot up and she leaned forward slightly in curiosity. "Really? That's interesting."

It was a silent for a moment while the two inwardly mused that the other couldn't be _that_ horrible if they both regarded the same man so highly. Sasori sent the pinkette a sidelong glance and continued.

"May I inquire towards your opinion of Tomurau Aojiroi?"

Sakura's eyes lit up and she sat back with a slight smile, sighing dreamily.

"Her research outcomes were amazing. Precise and without fault. My shishou idolized her just as much as I do her." She said, nodding to herself.

Sasori, on the other hand, snorted and crossed his arms. "Tomurau Aojiroi's experiments and researches were slow and often left her patients dying off before she could cure them."

Sakura's eyes snapped towards him in a glare, but he continued before she could say anything.

"True, her results were often perfect, but what's the point in creating a cure if the people you are trying to help die before you can actually help them." He fell silent and waited to see if she would bring up another long-dead well-known medic. She regarded him curiously, and simply uttered a name.

"Dorai Buta?"

His gaze darkened as his eyebrows drew together.

"A pompous pig that did practically nothing to aid the medical field. He ruined lives rather than helped them."

Sakura nodded seriously. "His _experiments_ were pure torture to his subjects. He got the death he deserved."

He sent her a smirk. "Definitely nowhere near the level of ingenuity as Koke Irui."

She smiled in return. "Definitely."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Sasori suddenly stood, muttering a soft, "A moment, please." under his breath as he left the room.

Sakura watched his retreating form in a mixture of surprise and curiosity. She heard a door open and close after a few moments and then Sasori reappeared, a weathered scroll held delicately in his arms. He sat back down at the couch and slowly unfurled the scroll, sending her a knowing smirk as she raised an eyebrow at him. Once the scroll was completely open he held it out towards her a bit, nodding down to the parchment. She regarded him in silent curiosity and let her gaze travel over the scroll and its inked characters, eyes widening in shock.

"Is this...?"

His smirk widened as a strange sense of pride washed through him at her expression and he let her take the scroll from his gentle grip. "A Koke Irui original."

Sakura's eyes lit up and her fingers brushed over the paper delicately, eyes scanning the diagrams and words. "How did you...?"

"He was so impressed with my poisons and," He paused, face twisting somewhat in embarrassment, "_Amused_ by my idolization of him that he gave it to me during his visit to Suna when I was nine." He said, voice taking a slightly smug tone.

Sakura's attention snapped to him, eyes bulging. "You _met_ Koke Irui?"

He simply smirked haughtily as he watched her incredulous expression form. He was about to say something when a racking cough raged through him, shaking his frame. Sakura jumped slightly and regarded him with a slightly concerned eyebrow-raise.

'_Man, that was a nasty cough. Wait...'_

Her eyes suddenly widened as it hit her. In the next moment, Sakura was right there next to him, green-glowing fingers at his face. His skin was soft and warm and he regarded her with unveiled shock. She let out a breath she hadn't relaxed she'd been holding, hands starting to go slack.

"Y-you're..._alive_." She managed to stutter in her stupor. Sasori glared and swatted her hands away from his face. He didn't say anything as she continued to stare at him with wide eyes, but instead turned his glower onto the opposite wall as he crossed his arms. After a few moments, Sakura spoke.

"H-how long...?"

His frown deepened.

"Since I was resurrected, of course."

She sat back, suddenly numb. It all made sense now. How could she not have guessed it? How did she not _see_ it? He was made of flesh and blood now, not wood. No _wonder_ he'd been so furious towards her. She turned to look him over and he coughed violently again, hand flying to his mouth to mask the sound and his arm wrapping around his middle.

She frowned and quickly slipped into her medic-side. He sent her another irritated glare when her hands were on him again and she reciprocated with her own scowl, Koke Irui's scroll lying forgotten at her side.

"Don't be such a baby!" She snarled when he attempted to move away from her. "Like I told Deidara, I'm your medic now. So _let me heal you_." Finally, she managed to gather both of his wrists in one hand and, with a little chakra, pin his arms to the side of the couch. She was forced to straddle him for better access and her free hand landed on his chest, warm chakra already probing his systems.

Face slightly red, Sasori tried to ignore her while she checked his vitals, but she was so _close_. He'd been trying to avoid bodily-contact as much as possible since he'd been brought back and the other members had been courteous (for the most part) and given him his space. But this infuriating _little girl_, who he'd only _just _been beginning to tolerate, had popped his figurative personal-bubble and was setting off all his warning signals.

After a moment, Sakura sat back and frowned. She slipped off of him and stood before the mildly annoyed red-head. She crossed her arms and gave him her analysis.

"Your immune system is barely developed and your blood cells are still slowly forming." He didn't seem very concerned so she continued, brows furrowing further, "I can tell you are exhausted. You need to get rest to help your body speed up its natural processes. Walking around and exerting energy is making it harder for your systems to make the necessary adjustments to adapt to you now being alive."

Sasori made no move to leave and get some rest as she suggested and Sakura growled to herself. Her hand shot out and wrapped around his upper arm, heaving him off the couch and towards the door. He struggled in her grip and directed a long string of obscenities towards her.

"Let me _go_. I don't care what you think you know. I'm _fine_." He snarled at her, planting his feet firmly. Sakura glared back at him and, with an added burst of chakra, tugged him along out into the hallway.

"I _can tell _you're not fine. If you continue to push yourself any longer, your body will have a relapse and you could go into a _coma_." Somehow, she managed to find the hallway where all the bedrooms were located. She stopped, realizing she had no idea which room was his. She frowned lightly and looked over her shoulder, eyes swimming with both concern and aggravation.

"_Please_, just get some rest. I'd be off to a _horrible _start here if a member were to become incapacitated under my care." His glare lessened somewhat and she continued. "So, please, can you just take my advice and get some rest? I promise, you can go back to hating me and scowling later."

He sighed exasperatedly, refusing to look at her strangely influential expression. He shrugged her hold on his arm off and growled.

"_Fine_. I'll go lay down for a few hours." He stalked down the hall before stopping in front of one of the doors. She grinned and followed after him. The moment Sakura stepped into his room, an icy chill shot down her spine. She immediately clapped her arms around herself as she shivered.

"Fucking crap, it's _freezing_ in here."

Sasori rolled his eyes and stalked towards his bed. She sighed and glanced around the room. It was tidy but looked unlived in. A few wooden limbs were strewn randomly over the area. She turned her attention to Sasori. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, body just barely noticeably shaking from the cold.

"Well, even though you might not have needed to stay warm _before_, you're going to need to now." Sakura said, hands on her hips. Her gaze fell on a cabinet on the far wall and she figured that would be the best place to look for some extra blankets.

As Sakura opened the small wooden door (Sasori's shout of, "Wait! Not that cabinet!" registering too late in her mind), all she could do was gasp in horror as hundreds of poison-dripping senbons flew towards her. She knew that, at such a close proximity, she would never be able to dodge or deflect all of them. She was vaguely aware of hearing someone shout her name. Her eyes snapped shut and her arms flew up to cross in front of her face.

In the next moment, Sakura felt something attach to her body and then she was being yanked to the side and down, the senbon flying to embed in the opposite wall. She gasped as she was pulled into something warm and fell to the ground on top of it.

Sakura took a few steading breaths, face pressed into Sasori's chest as she lay on top of him. After a moment, it registered in her mind what had happened. Her head rose and she stared at him incredulously. He'd _saved_ her. He'd used his chakra strings and _pulled_ _her_ _out_ _of the way_.

Sasori glowered exasperatedly and pushed her off of him and stood. Sakura was still struck-dumb and could only stare at him in shock.

"Be more careful, little girl. Someone might not be there to help you next time." He said as he crossed his arms. Sakura stood and glanced back at the cabinet, a few senbon sticking out of the door. She sent an incredulous and questioning look over at Sasori.

"What _was_ that?"

He sighed, heel of his palm pressed into his forehead. "A defective arm. It's been shooting out a folly of senbon anytime conditions around it are changed or if there is a shift in the air. I've been keeping it in that cabinet until I could get around to fixing it."

Sakura nodded to herself and Sasori turned his back to her, shuffling to the bed to slip under the sheets, facing away from her. She pursed her lips and approached him. She placed a hand on his head to check him once more and sighed and his silence.

"Fine, I'll leave." She started to turn away, mumbling under her breath, "Go to sleep and dream bitter dreams, Red."

She'd only taken a step when Sasori's hand suddenly darted out and wrapped around her wrist. Sakura looked back at him in question and froze.

His face was like that of a child's: scared and alone. Gone was the façade of that ruthless killer from so many years ago. Gone were those wide and insane eyes. All that was left was a young boy, face slightly red from the beginnings of a fever and eyes downcast as dark thoughts stormed through his mind.

Sakura felt something inside her drop and she turned to face him fully, kneeling down to face-level with him. She spoke to him as she did with all her children-patients: calmly and comfortingly, voice light with sympathy and well-wishes.

"Hey, it's ok. What's wrong?" She couldn't help but speak softly to him. At this moment, he looked so _unlike_ the man she had had nightmares of for months. His russet-eyes fell to rest on the folds of the sheet as he spoke hesitantly.

"I...I haven't slept since my parents died. The last time I did, my sleep was full of nightmares. I-I became an insomniac for fear of more terrifying dreams." His gaze rose to her, "A smaller reason I had turned myself into a puppet was because I wouldn't _need_ to sleep."

This child-like face, hesitant voice, emotional eyes; Sakura _knew_ they were incredibly out of character for him. A part of her was telling her he was only saying these things because his condition was worsening. Another side said it was because he'd probably been bottling it all up for years and was finally venting to the most available outlet. Inner was saying it was one step closer to forming a stronger bond of trust.

'_**Comfort him. This might be your only chance to not only get on his good side, but find sympathy with the Akatsuki. They're not so different from other people, are they?'**_

Sakura nodded inwardly and smiled softly. She pulled a chair over to the side of the bed and sat, arms resting on the edge of the mattress.

"Don't worry. I'll be here." She said gently. He seemed slightly skeptical, though. An idea struck her and she brought her hands to his head, fingertips glowing green with warm, healing chakra. Sasori sent her a questioning look and she quickly explained.

"I'm going to put you under for a while, don't worry." His eyes widened slightly and he nearly pulled away from her. She shushed him and pressed her thumbs to his temples. "I use this technique all the time on myself if I'm exhausted but having trouble sleeping. It'll knock you unconscious and you fall into a _dream-less_ sleep. You should be out for a few hours; that should be long enough for your body to work itself into a more stable state."

He seemed to calm down at her words and his eyelids fluttered shut. Sakura smiled to herself and put the finishing touches on the technique, the last bit of chakra necessary flowing into his nerves. She barely heard his whispered words as he was lost to unconsciousness.

"Thank you, little girl."

She sat back for a moment, trying to get his strange, peaceful face out of her mind. She sighed and hovered over Sasori again, hands at his chest.

The least she could do was help his body along.

**::**

When Deidara woke up, he felt much better.

That is, until he realized that both his partner and a certain pinkette were missing.

_Shit._

He jumped to his feet and ran out of the room. Who _knew_ what type of trouble those two could cause if they got into a fight. What with Sakura monstrous strength and Sasori's lately unpredictable mood.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck,_ un." Deidara muttered under his breath as he jogged down the hallways, sure he'd end up finding them by following some sort of trail of _rubble _and _wood._

His mind was just beginning to imagine the fist-sized dents in the ground and poison dripping off of the walls when he suddenly skidded to a halt.

The blonde had to blink a few times before the scene before him registered in his mind.

There they were.

In Sasori's room.

He lying on the bed, face turned just slightly towards her. She resting her chin on her crossed arm on the edge of the mattress, seated on a chair.

Both asleep.

Deidara blinked once more before grinning.

"Well, un. Who would have thought?"

It looked like he wouldn't have to worry about them ripping each other apart. The pinkette seemed to have the same effect on Danna as she did on the other members she'd encountered so far.

Deidara smirked to himself and turned around, walking back down the hall leisurely.

Something at the back of his mind was telling him that the next few weeks would be full of everyone competing for her attention, each striving to out-do the other.

It was going to be beautifully chaotic.

**::**

"_I don't believe you. You're _lying_."_

"_Face it Yamanaka, she betrayed the village."_

"_It can't be true."_

"_Yeah, Sakura would _never _do something like that."_

"_I-it's all some sort of joke, isn't it? It _has_ to be."_

"_She left. It's as simple at that."_

"_No-"_

"_It's not possible-"_

"_Not Sakura-"_

"_She's gone rouge, you'll all have to accept it sooner or later."_

"_It's _nottrue._ It can't be."_

"_When Naruto hears-"_

"_What's there to hear about! She's not gone!"_

"_But still, what if-"_

"_No!"_

"_Maybe she was really kidnapped?"_

"_Y-yes. That's the only explanation."_

"_Sakura didn't betray us. She _couldn't_ have."_

**::**

_The time has come  
>And we're not done<br>We'll stay up all night until we see the sun  
>Say "Nooo", I say "Ohhh"<em>

**::**

**notes: **That was a _**monster**_ of a chapter, wasn't it? We got a lot accomplished in this chapter and covered a lot of ground! There were a few things in this chapter I didn't like, but a lot I loved :3

Oh, and concerning 'after the Itachi/Sasuke fight': Sasuke never learned of the truth behind the Uchiha Massacre and still thinks Itachi's a murderous bastard (and still thinks he's dead...). Keep that in mind later on.

Oh, and I've got a **NEW POLL** on my profile that I would really like you all to vote on. It's really important for _**Sugar Cube**_!

As I promised, here are the Anonymous Reviewers Replies:

To J: First off, thanks for the review! I'm glad you're liking the story so far! Oh, thanks. I didn't notice that! I'll be sure to keep that in mind in later chapters. Thanks again!

To Emma: Hi again! Thanks, I was kind of worried he'd turn out a little OOC. Glad you liked the fight! Yes, couldn't have a fight with Hidan without a little gore. LOL, yeah, that's going to be fun to write (at least, once everyone realizes that they are interested in Sakura...). Thanks for the happy birthday wish! And thanks for the review! Here's your update!

To CherryCherry: Hi again! I'm glad you loved the last chapter! Aw, thanks! I really enjoy writing fight scenes, I've learned. Can't have a ninja-fic without them, now can we? Thanks for the birthday wish and the review! Here's your update!

To tori: Aw, thanks! I feel so flattered! Glad you liked the chapter! Here's your update!

To sungsi: First off, thanks for the review! I'm glad you're liking the story so far! Aw thanks! I write the best I can and try to keep the characters in character as much as possible! Here's your update!

To 20: Thanks for the happy belated-birthday wish! Thanks for following the story! I'm glad you're liking it! I'll be sure to put plenty of ItaSaku, KisaSaku, and PeinSaku in later chapters! Thanks again!

To LadahhhSwan: I'm so glad you like the story! Here's more powerful, affectionate, protective, and smexy Akatsuki! Thanks for the review!

As always, let me take a moment to thank all you amazing reviewers! IKillatFirstsight, angel897, PandaFatty, damaredesu, xXFallenxBeautyxX, Queen Anne's Revenge, Saiyuri Haruno, Nikooru-sama, TeenageCrisis, Ketsueki no Kuki, alyssaangel15, J, Emma, CherryCherry, tori, 10tealeaf, sungsi, xSakuraWings, Danny Bunny, Saku-Chan.x, Nibi-Nekomata, firehottie, .love, , YoH KiRi, Minato-kun Luver, Gin Kitsune-sama, Just-Call-Me-Mischeif, ., bloodsucker232, AnimaAmore, KyleCynthia, SoneySmile, cherryblossomszahime, Buwahahahaha, LittleFoxDemon, MoonlightShadowMaiden, Jessibaybeh, 20, PrincessStawberry, Netag Silverstar, Moonlight Meiko, himeko63, , CandyRedApple, TheHeartBreaker, raven rose 101, Pookie Boo, StormDragon666, xXLoveXxXIsXxXDeadlyXx, CuteLilSuki, ShadowFoxAngel, omfgthisisgay321, CrazySakuraHarunoXD, RadicalHaylee, Valkyrie-ShapeShifter666, kitsuneluvuh, Oblivious Procrastinator, waterflame4991, LadahhhSwan, MagykjayEmmax, xXxMusicNCookiesxXx, Fruitloop11, AngelDemonSakura, KK1KK2, and corpsedollie.

Most of the SasoSaku scenes were all thought up while I was on vacation (_see?_ I _was_ working on this!) Aaaw, bonding over books. That's nerd love, right there. 3 There was a _lot_ of Sasori in this chapter. But I just love that little red-head so much, I couldn't resist!

I actually had a few other scenes planned where Sakura and the Akatsuki played...a certain game...but this chapter was _really_ getting too long and I _needed_ to post it already. So, that'll be in the next chapter.

The next update might be a while; I'll be working on my oneshot entry for Stormdragon666's Sakura-centric contest for the rest of October. Speaking of, if you don't already know about her contest, I suggest you pop onto her profile and check it out! Then get crackin'!

Hope you all enjoyed this! Sorry again for the long wait!

Reviews = Love = Happiness = Inspiration = Faster Updates = More Smiles

Create some smiles, people.

**::Thirrin73::**


	6. Chapter Five: Time to Play

**notes: **What's that in the horizon? Could it be? It is! An update from _Thirrin73_! Yes! At last!

This update is brought to you by my Spring Spectacular.

First off, I would like to thank everyone so much for all the reviews and love I've received since I last updated this! I was unable to reply to most of the reviews, which I'm incredibly sorry for, but if you send me a PM regarding Sakura's kekkei genkai I promise I'll be replying to those soon. Things have been pretty hectic, but I finally got around to finishing this :)

This is kind of a filler chapter, ending with a bit of plot. But this chapter _does_ tie in with the summary and brings in some fun stuff.

Normally, I hate having pop culture (modern day) references in a Ninja-verse stories, but this will probably be the one time I make an exception. Most of this chapter had been planned for a long time (practically since the beginning) and the scene with the modern day reference (a particular game that I just adore) is something that I just wanted to do so badly! Hey, if they have TVs in the Naruto world, why can't they have some other slightly-modern stuff?

This chapter/update is dedicated to _A Happy Psycosis/Cracker-nin/Em _for her constant reviews, guilt trips, and ass-kicking. I'm so sorry this took so long and I can never thank you enough for sticking with me and waiting for this. I love you hun!

Enjoy!

See you at the bottom.

**::**

_**Sugar Cube**_

_**-Chapter Five-**_

_**Time to Play**_

**::**

_I think about you  
>Can't dream without you<br>I always want more _

**::**

_**November 17, 1:03 PM**_

When Sakura awoke, it took her a moment to remember where she was. She inwardly flailed about, eyes roving over the unfamiliar room, before catching sight of the slumbering red-head before her. Everything came flooding back and she sat back with a sigh. Running a hand through her hair before massaging her sore neck, Sakura observed Sasori.

He was sleeping peacefully, a more natural color dusting his face than before. Sakura reached forward, hands hovering over his abdomen, and probed his systems with her chakra once more. After a few moments, she smiled in approval and stood, leaving him to rest some more.

The rosette meandered into the hallway, headed towards where she hoped the kitchen was located. Her inner-clock was telling her it was about noon and her stomach only confirmed that statement with a snarl. Hand at her belly, Sakura groaned, only vaguely aware of the sound of rain pitter-pattering on the roof and the click of a door opening and closing somewhere behind her.

Her stomach growled again and she grimaced. When had been the last time she ate? Man, this mission was certainly tampering with her normal eating habits. Sakura sighed and ushered a bit of numbing chakra into her still-sore neck. She made a mental note to not sleep like that again for _any _period of time, but found her train of thought momentarily interrupted as she was picked up and thrown over a strong shoulder.

"Wha-?" she exclaimed, arms thrashing about.

Sakura's mind automatically went to a few days prior and she figured it was Kisame holding her. But, as she turned her head and she saw not blue, but silver hair, her gaze narrowed.

"Hidan! Put me down!"

His only reply was a bemused chuckle as Hidan's hand traveled up her thigh to give her behind an affectionate pat. She growled and squirmed on his shoulder, trying to twist around enough to effectively punch him. He laughed and ignored her attempts as he carried her to the kitchen.

"Enjoying your first day here Pinky?" Hidan asked with a grin as he dropped her onto one of the high stools surrounding an island-counter in the middle of the kitchen. He took a seat next to her and she frowned at him, fixing her shirt and pausing in thought. She gathered just enough chakra in to her fist to sting and punched him in the shoulder. Hidan yelped in surprise and she smiled, sitting back and reaching for an apple sitting in a bowl with other fruits in the middle of the counter.

"Much better than I anticipated, actually."

Hidan grinned and snatched the apple from her hands, taking a large bite from it. Sakura huffed, reaching for another. He took that one as well and they elapsed into a silent battle for the fruit. Eventually they both burst into grins and laughs as they continued to snatch the apple back and forth and tried to block the other's advances, both enjoying the other's company. The occasional "Fuck!" and "Cha!" echoed around the large kitchen, but they paid no mind to their loudness.

Suddenly, she heard someone approach the kitchen and felt Hidan stiffen next to her, hand plucking the apple from her grasp, as his gaze darted to the entrance of the kitchen. Sakura looked up as well, blood freezing as she saw Uchiha Itachi standing in the doorway. He watched her with a cold, calculating air, a flash of vague recognition registering in his mind (though his face remained blank).

"Haruno Sakura, a Konoha kunoichi." he said under his breath, almost too softly for the two to hear.

The pinkette watched him, outwardly calm but inwardly in a panic, as his mind processed this information. He connected the dots – she was_ rogue_ – and his eyes narrowed.

Hidan's hand curled into a fist at his side as he felt a flare of bloodlust and anger bubble inside the Uchiha. What the hell did he have against Sakura?

"Fuck off Red Eyes, Pinky's a guest and Leader-sama gave strict orders that she's not to be fucked with." Hidan growled, shifting in his seat to keep both former Konoha-nin in his sight. Sakura's eyes darted to the Jashinist in question but she didn't say anything, warily watching Itachi.

Itachi blinked, red-gaze slowly shifting from Sakura to Hidan. His face didn't change but Hidan could _sense_ the hate and rage building up inside him, directed at the rosette for some unknown reason.

Before anything else was said, Itachi disappeared back down the hallway.

Sakura released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding and Hidan relaxed, fist uncurling. He sent a raised eyebrow at her.

"What'd you do to ruffle the Uchiha's fuckin' feathers?"

"What do you mean?" she asked in confusion, mind replaying the brief but tense exchange.

"I felt a lot of fucking bloodlust and rage directed at you coming off of him. The little bitch has got it out for you Sak; I'd watch my fucking back around him if I were you." Hidan answered, tossing her the apple. She held the fruit delicately in her hands, contemplating its smooth surface. After a moment, his words fully registered in her mind and her gaze snapped up at him.

"What do you mean you_ felt_ 'bloodlust and rage'?"

Hidan waved offhandedly and reached for an orange. "Jashin-sama likes his sacrifices either fucking furious or terrified. So, to know when the bitches are ripe for the picking, I can feel their anger or fear." He grinned over at her, absentmindedly peeling the rind of the orange. "Bloodlust goes with anger. Yours felt fuckin' _awesome_ when were had our battle. I could fucking _feel_ you wanting to take my head off, even before you actually did." His grin faded and his face twisted into a scowl here.

"The Uchiha-bitch's felt more like an annoying yapping at the back of my mind like some sort of fucking rat-dog. Bastard needs to stop blocking his fucking emotions so much, they feel too weak or explode in weird fucking bursts when he lets them slip – which is extremely rare." His grin returned and he popped an orange slice into his mouth. "Off the reign-emotions are what makes fights so much fuckin' fun, seriously." He gave a dutiful nod and ate another slice.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him, cataloging this new information into a folder in her head. "Wait, so you can _feel_ people's emotions? Like some sort of psychic hippy?"

Hidan frowned and flicked an orange peel at her. "Fuck that. Weren't you listening? I can sense _anger _and _fear_. Not those gay emotions like happiness and fuckin' sadness." He held up his arms and flexed, muscles bulging under his fishnet shirt, as he grinned devilishly.

"I'm an S-class, fucking bad-ass mofo, not some gay Gennin-pussy."

Sakura eyed his biceps approvingly and took a bite from her apple, reaching out to flick his forehead with a smirk. He blinked in surprise, lips pursing.

"So, if you're the big bad wolf, what does that make me – the little girl that kicked your ass and punched your head off?" she asked, corner of her mouth quirking upward. He grinned back at her and snagged her wrist, pulling her off her stool and onto his lap. She sent him a mildly surprised look and his grin widened.

"Wanna find out just how bad I am Pinky?"

But, before she could answer, the sound of approaching footsteps reached their ears and Sakura took the moment of distraction to hop back onto her stool. Hidan pouted at her retreat but she ignored him, focusing fully on her apple.

Tobi strolled into the kitchen and, upon spotting the pinkette, promptly bee lined for her side, arms wrapping around her shoulders in a happy hug as he squealed in delight.

"Sakura-chan! Tobi hasn't seen you in forever! I've missed you so much!"

She smiled weakly and patted his arm. "I-it's only been a few hours Tobi..."

He looked up at her and she was certain he was sending her puppy-dog eyes behind his mask.

"But it's felt like _days_."

Sakura could only laugh at his seriousness and quickly returned the hug. She could practically feel his grin as he hopped back and rocked on his heels. Hidan grumbled something under his breath and ate the last slice of orange, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Does Sakura-chan want Tobi to make her lunch? Tobi makes the best rice balls in the entire world!"

She grinned at him, nodding enthusiastically. "That sounds great Tobi!"

"Yay!"

"What sounds great, un?"

Sakura turned to send a delighted smile at Deidara, her mind completely focused on food.

"Tobi's making rice balls!"

"Does Senpai want some? Tobi can make enough for everyone!"

Deidara's eyes seemed to glaze over slightly as he contemplated the offer.

"Tobi does makes some pretty good rice balls, un..."

"Okie-dokie Senpai, Tobi will get started right away!"

He skipped over to a drawer and started pulling materials out, humming under his breath. Sakura's stomach growled in approval at the thought of home-cooked food and she smiled to herself.

It was then that Kisame suddenly poked his head around the corner of the doorway and, upon sighting the four, walked in. He grabbed a pear from the bowl and announced that Zetsu was waiting in the living room with a message from Pein and that everyone was to report in. He grinned at Sakura's suddenly downcast face and simply shrugged at her questioning look.

She finished off her apple and sadly told Tobi that he could make his rice balls later as she followed after Kisame. Deidara silently disappeared to find Sasori and Hidan stepped into the hallway, letting his partner know of the meeting in a much cruder manner.

"Oi! Kaku-fucker! Family meeting in the living room!" He forced as much sarcasm as possible into _family meeting_ and laughed at the distant, muffled reply to "Fuck off Hidan, I'm busy!"

"Leader-sama's orders, Stitch-face!"

The muffled groan, thud, and curse echoed down the hallway and Hidan strutted into the living room behind Sakura, a pleased grin splitting his face.

The rosette stopped short (Hidan nearly running into her) when she noticed Itachi sitting on the far end of the couch. She paused, ready for anything, but he blatantly ignored her. Thinking back on what Hidan had said, she chose the seat on the couch farthest from the Uchiha (she could vaguely remember Deidara mentioning that Kakuzu and Kisame had long since claimed the relciners). Kisame deposited himself in his appropriate spot and Hidan happily took the seat next to Sakura. Tobi bounded into the room and, after a moment's thought, plopped down in the seat next to Itachi, talking animatedly over Hidan's shoulder at Sakura.

The sound of muffled grumbling reached Sakura's ears and she looked up, just in time to spot who she guessed was the ex-Kusa nin, Kakuzu, appear in the doorway. He bee-lined for the nearest recliner but paused as he first noticed Sakura. Kakuzu raised an eyebrow at the pinkette but otherwise didn't question her presence.

He only seemed content after throwing a kunai at Hidan, the knife embedding itself deep in his shoulder.

"Oi! What the hell was that for you bastard?" the Jashinist exclaimed, ripping the bloodied metal from his shoulder and flinging it back at his partner. Kakuzu ignored him and easily dodged the kunai and let it embed itself in the wall behind him. Hidan growled and was about to stand when Zetsu made himself known, morphing out of the coffee table in the middle of the room. At his appearance, everyone quieted and waited for him to speak. Sasori appeared in the doorway and simply stood with crossed arms, Deidara brushing past him to lean against the arm of the couch and send Sakura a grin.

Pleased that everyone was present, Zetsu began.

"Due to the arrival of Haruno-san, Leader-sama has canceled all missions until further notice. For the time being, all members are to be stationed here at the Denbun no Yajuu Base and to use their time accordingly. In eleven days' time, Leader-sama will be arriving to hear everyone's opinions on Haruno-san and their vote as to whether she shall become a member or," Zetsu paused, sending Sakura a toothy smile, "Be disposed of."

Sakura squirmed slightly under the massive amount of attention she had just gained and felt her face burn. She felt pretty confident that she had Deidara, Kisame, Tobi, and Hidan's vote, but that was only four out of eight.

She'd better start proving her worth.

Maybe a member or two would somehow conveniently get sick or injured and she could whip out some of her awesome medical skills?

"Also, at Konan-san's request, Leader-sama has recommended that we all participate in some 'team building exercises' to get to know everyone better despite working together for several years already." Zetsu added dryly, not at all pleased with the notion. There were a few collective groans from the more outspoken members and Sakura stifled a laugh. Oh, she knew how tedious these types of exercises could be, but it was amusing to see other nin be forced into participating.

Ah, she could remember the new Team Seven's first introductory exercise.

"_Now, Sakura and Naruto have already done this before and I'm sure they remember it well, but I think we should all get to know each other better. We've had a few missions together as the new Team Seven, but how well do we actually know one another?" Kakashi had begun from his place under the large tree. _

_Steaming craters, splintered practice dummies, and ink littered the floor of the training ground Team Seven had long since claimed as their own. The other four members of the team that was slowly growing in fame were loosely grouped around the main tree, pleasantly exhausted from their latest training session. _

_Sakura and Naruto both released groans of annoyance but, at Kakashi's all too threatening eye-crinkle, they quickly sobered up. _

"_Sakura-chan, if you'd go first as our example?" He asked, much too calmly and politely for comfort. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and sighed, leaning back slightly as she spoke._

"_My name is Haruno Sakura. I like healing and helping those that need my help, sparring and knocking idiots on their asses, and that look of pure _shock_ on my opponents face when I punch a crater in the ground. I hate it when people underestimate me, when someone asks me if my hair color is natural (because, duh, it _totally_ is), and when Sai calls me 'Hag' or 'Ugly' when he _knows _I'll punch him into next week." She sent a brief glare at the artist, who simply sent her an obviously fake smile. _

"_My goals are to become a world-renowned medic like Shishou and to catch up with my teammates." She sent Naruto a smirk dripping with mirth and determination and the blonde grinned in return. She paused, remembering the last part, and continued. "My hobbies are healing, training, arguing with Ino-pig, and spending time at the library."_

_Sakura went silent and reminisced. It was strange to think back to what she had said, so many years ago, and see how much she had changed. _

_Kakashi clapped in approval, smiling behind his mask. His attempts to be the 'cheerful leader' were easily seen though by the others as a way to wrap up training and make Naruto forget about his promise to treat the blonde to ramen at Ichiraku's. _

_Unfortunately, the boy wasn't nearly so oblivious anymore._

"_Excellent Sakura-chan! Now, your turn Naruto."_

_The blonde grinned, pumping a fist into the air as he began._

"_Yosh! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, dattebayo! I like ramen, my kickass jutsus, and when Sakura-chan heals me (cause have you _felt_ that shit? Her chakra is freaking amazing!)! I don't like stupid, easy missions, when people doubt my awesomeness, and when Sakura-chan punches me, 'ttebayo." He sent her a pout and she giggled to herself. He grinned at her smile and continued. "My dream is to be the Hokage, 'ttebayo! And you can bet I will!" _

_He paused then muttered something under his breath. "And to drag a certain bastards ass back to Konoha." He and Sakura shared a look and he continued, grin returning. "My hobbies are eating ramen at Ichiraku's, going on kickass missions, and training my ass off!"_

_Kakashi nodded and was about to signal Sai to go when Naruto's grin suddenly grew from cheesy to shit-eating and he pointed a finger in the air triumphantly._

"_I also like it when Kakashi-sensei keeps his promises and treats me to ramen, dattebayo!"_

_The Copy-nin visibly wilted and sighed to himself. He gestured to Sai dully, who began unsurely, expression deceptively blank._

"_I am Sai. I like to paint and draw, learn new things, and..." He paused in thought before continuing. "And go on missions with my new team." Sakura and Naruto's expressions of surprise and slight flattery didn't go by unnoticed. "I don't like making mistakes, artist block (which I've come across only recently), and, as Naruto-kun said, when Sakura-san punches me." His face twisted into a vague frown of distaste and Sakura snickered to herself, enjoying the hold she had over her boys. _

_Sai didn't notice and continued. "My goals are to understand people and emotions better and to become closer with my teammates."_

_Had the blonde and the pinkette not been the badass, self-controlled ninjas they were, they might have squealed in delight and glomped Sai, effectively scarring him for the rest of his life._

_He glanced at their giddy expressions and finished unsurely. "My hobbies are drawing, calligraphy, and reading about human emotions and mannerisms." He stopped and looked over at his teammates expectantly._

"_How was that Dickless? Hag?"_

_Cue sad sighs and slight eye twitches._

_Ah, so close._

_Everyone turned their attention to Yamato and he laughed nervously. He scratched his neck and thought to himself. "Ah, I am Yamato. I like walnuts and resting, preferably getting a full night's sleep. I hate oily foods and," He paused, looking over at Naruto with wide eyes as a creepy shadow fell over his face, "When lower ranked teammates misbehave and force me to scare them into submission."_

_Kakashi and Sakura laughed as Naruto's face twisted into one of fright and he jumped back slightly, hands held up in defense. Sai observed them and smiled slightly to himself as Yamato grinned and continued. "Hm, my goal is to battle Kakashi-senpai in a real fight. My hobby is reading books about architecture." He nodded to himself and went silent._

_All eyes traveled to Kakashi and he simply stared back._

"_C'mon Kaka-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, "You need to do it too!"_

"_Yeah and none of that bullshit you pulled the first time!" Sakura added, flicking a blade of grass at the silver-haired nin._

_Kakashi pouted behind his mask and crossed his arms. "My answers were perfectly acceptable the first time we did this."_

"_Tch, the only thing we learned was your name, 'ttebayo!"_

"_And you'd seemed reluctant to even give us that much!"_

_Yamato blinked and watched the three curiously. "What exactly did Kakashi say the first time you guys did this exercise?"_

_Sakura and Naruto shared a look and smirked to themselves. They quickly turned around and removed their headbands, turning back to the three with their hitai-ate's covering their left eyes. They pointed to themselves and, in a very drone and unimpressed voice, spoke in unison._

"_Me? I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate...meh, I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future...never really thought about it. As for my hobbies...I have lots of hobbies."_

_Kakashi sent them withering looks and frowned to himself._

"_I didn't say that."_

"_You totally did, dattebayo!"_

"_So, you'd better do it right this time Kakashi-sensei!"_

_Kakashi sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Fine, fine. I'm Hatake Kakashi. I like improving my team's teamwork, taking my time, and reading _IchaIcha_. I hate it when people tell me I'm late when I have a perfectly valid excuse as to why I am tardy," here, Naruto snorted in derision. Kakashi ignored him and continued, "And when I'm photographed without my mask on."_

_Both Sakura and Naruto suddenly sat up, eyes wide. "There are _photographs_?" the blond exclaimed in disbelief. _

"_Yes, but no one will ever see them." Kakashi answered cryptically, eyes darting from side to side. "Anyways, my dream is..." He paused and thought to himself, hand gripping his chin. "My dream is to keep my team safe and never have to go through the pain of losing a beloved teammate again." _

_It was silent for a moment as the four processed Kakashi's words._

_Suddenly, Naruto and Sakura cried and jumped Kakashi, hugging him tightly. Yamato and Sai watched unsurely, but they were soon pulled into the hug and Team Seven shared a tender moment. They eventually all started laughing but stayed grouped together under the tree._

"_Oh! And my hobby is reading the _Icha Icha_ books!"_

"_Kakashi-sensei, you're such a pervert!"_

Sakura shook her head at the memory and thought to herself as she imagined the Akatsuki talking about their likes and dislikes. What freaky hobbies did _these_ maniacs have? She wasn't aware of Tobi suddenly perking up and pointing a finger in the air.

"Let's play a game!" Tobi suggested. Many of the others rolled their eyes but didn't object. An air of boredom had fallen over the room and they seemed to not care about what they'd have to do as a 'team building exercise' and simply let whoever could come up with ideas take the lead.

And Tobi had been the first to speak. So they'd end up going with whatever he decided.

At the silent agreement, Tobi instantly jumped up and raced out of the room, shouting "Tobi knows the perfect game!" back to the eight. Sasori took this opportunity to take the now vacant seat between Hidan and Kisame, glancing over at the lost-in-thought pinkette. Tobi returned shortly, grinning triumphantly behind his mask. At the sight of the familiar rectangular box held in Tobi's hands, Hidan and Deidara couldn't help but elicit groans of irritation.

Sakura snapped back to reality, Tobi's request to play a game registering in her mind at last, and looked over at the masked man. After blinking in recognition and slight surprise at the box Tobi was holding, a wide grin split her face.

Oh, she kicked _ass_ at Monopoly.

Despite the fact that most of the others didn't particularly want to play the board game, no one outwardly disagreed when Tobi started setting the game up on the large coffee table. However, Kakuzu did stand and abrumptly leave the room, face twisted with annoyance. No one paid him any mind and Sakura slipped off the couch to help Tobi.

"Hold on." Hidan said, crossing his arms, "If we're going to play fucking Monopoly, I say we make the game more interesting."

Plucking a fleck of lint off his sleeve, Kisame raised an eyebrow at the Jashinist. "How so?"

"First off, we play with real money. Not that shitty-ass fake cash."

No sooner had Hidan finished speaking, Kakuzu stepped back into the room, a vague look of interest quirking his stitched lips as a smirk appeared.

Sakura's grin widened. She'd won _loads _of cash off her friends in the past. This was going to be _fun_.

Kisame laughed and agreed with Hidan. A set amount of 2,000 Ryo (about a month's pay) was decided on and, slowly, the other members consented.

All except for Itachi, that is.

"This is childish. I refuse." he said simply.

Sakura had just left to go grab some money (along with Deidara, Kisame, Zetsu, and Sasori) when Tobi turned to the Uchiha. She was halfway down the hall when she heard him speak, voice dropping an octave.

"Now, Itachi-san, I insist!"

The rest of the conversation was lost to her and she continued down the hallway, slipping into her room. She headed for her pack and rummaged through it for her stock of cash she'd brought. Sakura turned and was about to head back to the living room when she paused, Inner's voice ringing in her head.

'_**I'd suggest putting on some extra clothes, babe. Knowing these guys this will probably turn into something perverted. Besides, it's like a fucking freezer in this place! I'd rather not have us getting frostbite, doll.'**_

Sakura blinked before inwardly agreeing with her. Who knows _what_ could happen with these guys. She removed her capris and slipped on a pair of knee-length shorts followed by thick sweatpants. She pulled an oversized sweater over her tank top and tugged on a pair of socks. She'd been slightly surprised at how cold her feet were but the added clothing quickly made a difference and she felt immensely warmer.

'_Wow, that was a serious change. I hadn't even noticed that I was cold.'_

'_**You can thank me later, darling. Now go kick some hot Akatsuki ass!'**_

A grin brightening her face, Sakura returned to the living room. The room was deathly silent compared to earlier and Itachi seemed to have changed his mind about playing

**::**

"So," Deidara started, "These are the official rules, un." He read off the list of rules that had been written down on a piece of paper. Each of the nine had contributed somehow to the list and most were pleased by everything.

_1) We play with real money._

_2) Everyone contributes 2,000 Ryo, keeping 1,500 Ryo for starting amount and giving the leftover 500 Ryo to the_ Bank._ Whatever money is left over in the bank at the end of the game will be evenly distributed among the players._

_3) When paying Rent, player must give owner of property one article of clothing. If property has a house or hotel on property, the owner may _choose_ which piece of clothing is forfeited._

_4) When paying _Taxes_, player must give _Bank_ one article of clothing._

_5) If player runs out of clothing, they must pay double rent._

Here, Sakura had become incredibly thankful for Inner's advice about wearing extra clothes.

_6) If player runs out of clothing and money, they are kicked out of the game and owe everyone else a _Favor_ which can be cashed in at any time. Player _must_ complete the _Favor_, no questions asked._

_7) For each _Chance Card_ or_ Community Chest Card_ received, player must take a shot of sake._

_8) Buy a piece of property and take a shot._

_9) Pass _Go_ and player collects 200 Ryo as normal. Everyone takes a shot._

_10) Land on _Free Parking _and take two shots of sake._

_11) Roll doubles, take three shots._

_12) Go to _Jail_ and be interrogated. Everyone asks player a question that player must answer. Everyone besides player takes a shot._

Sakura smirked to herself. This game of Drunken Strip Monopoly (as Hidan had dubbed it) was going to be _so_ entertaining. While she didn't know much of the boys' alcohol-tolerance, she was positive _she_ wouldn't be the drunken fool tonight. After so many years of being Tsunade's apprentice, she'd picked up on a few things and had developed a nifty trick that dissolved the alcohol content in her body when she thought she'd hat too much and felt a little too tipsy – she'd even come up with a medical technique that handled hangovers.

She was now a freaking _tank_ when it came to drinking and still staying aware to her surroundings. What might put a grown man in a drunken-coma simply left her with a slight buzz.

And, with a clearer head, she'd be less likely to make mistakes and lose her money.

Sakura was going to kick their asses.

"So, who's playing with what peice?" Kisame asked suddenly.

There were several exchanged glances before Deidara, Tobi, Hidan, Kisame, and Sakura suddenly dove for the eight metal tokens on the table.

Tobi cackled in joy as he snatched the Racecar before anyone else could. Hidan cursed but quickly grabbed the Battleship and sat back with a wicked grin. Sakura snagged the Top Hat and watched Deidara's hand immediately dart out for the Cannon, all three of his mouths grinning. Kisame picked the Man on Horse and the five waited for the others to make their choices. Zetsu went for the Wheelbarrow and Sasori contemplated the Scottie Dog in his hand.

Itachi's face contorted into a vague look of disgust (only noticeable to Kisame since he had become adept to seeing his very, very slight facial expressions) as he realized the only token left was the Shoe.

He picked up the Shoe and sent it a glare, willing it to melt in his hand.

Sakura blinked as she realized that there wasn't a piece left for Kakuzu. The others seemed to notice this as well and they all looked over at the smirking, stitched man. He pulled a small, metal Sack of Money from his pocket and held it up for the others to see.

"Collector's Edition." He said simply.

Then began the process of deciding who went when.

They each rolled the dice and arranged the order from highest roll to lowest. Sakura, six; Kisame, three; Itachi, nine; Sasori, eleven; Deidara, six; Tobi, twelve; Zetsu, seven; Kakuzu, four; and Hidan, three. Considering Sakura and Deidara had rolled the same number, they each rolled a second time and Deidara came out with the higher number. The same went for Hidan and Kisame, the latter rolling the higher number.

And so, at Tobi's request, they all rearranged themselves around the coffee table in order: Tobi, Sasori, Itachi, Zetsu, Deidara, Sakura, Kakuzu, Kisame, and Hidan. With Tobi at one end of the rectangular table, Sasori, Itachi, and Zetsu seated next to each other on one of the long sides, Deidara and Sakura side-by-side opposite Tobi, and Kakuzu, Kisame, and Hidan taking up the other long side.

Sakura was inwardly surprised the table was big enough for the nine to all huddle around comfortably, but, at a second glance, she realized that all the other furniture was slightly larger than what she was used to.

'_Well, these _are_ pretty big guys. Dinky chairs and tiny tables aren't going to cut it. They probably fight a lot too, so I expect the furniture is all incredibly sturdy as well!'_

The money was sorted, the shot glasses handed out (Kisame keeping the various bottles of sake as the honorary bartender) and Tobi picked up the dice, grinning behind his mask, and the game began.

After moving his Racecar six spaces, Tobi stopped on _Oriental Avenue _and promptly bought the property, handing the money to Kakuzu (the self-appointed Banker) and accepting the card from Sakura.

"Tobi's going to win!" the masked man proclaimed as he pumped a fist in the air.

A grin split Kisame's face as he poured a shot of sake into Tobi's glass.

Tobi looked down at the drink and the room became silent. Deidara seemed to lean forward slightly and Sakura couldn't help but send him a curious look. But his blue eyes stayed pinned to the orange mask covering Tobi's face as he decided that _today_ he would finally see the shinobi's face.

Tobi looked up at the faces unsurely before suddenly jumping in his seat and pointing vigorously at something behind.

"Naked Orochimaru!"

Sounds of disgust and horrified gasps were traded around the table as all heads whipped around.

Nothing but a blank wall stood and their attention was returned to Tobi at the sound of glass clanking against the table. He was undoubtedly grinning at them from behind his mask as he tapped the emptied, upturned shot glass on the table, a muffled hiccup sounding behind the orange.

Deidara couldn't help but inwardly groan.

Sasori took his turn next and landed on _St. Charles Place_, eleven spaces from the starting point. The corresponding card was soon his and he contemplated the sake before downing it quickly. He couldn't remember the last time he had had alcohol, but he was sure that his tolerance would be _nowhere_ near the level of the others. So, he'd just have to be careful with his sake-consumption.

Itachi silently rolled and bought _Connecticut Avenue_, accepting his shot of sake with a blank face. With a grin, Zetsu rolled the dice and _Reading Railroad_ was soon his. As Deidara shook the dice in his fist, he decided then and there that he was going to win and use the extra cash for some more clay.

Unfortunately, after rolling the dice and moving his Cannon, he stopped on the property that Tobi had just bought.

"Fuck, un!"

"Deidara-senpai owes Tobi six Ryo for rent and one piece of clothing!" Tobi announced happily and Deidara groaned. He pulled the money from his stack of cash and stretched across the table to hand it to Tobi with a grimace.

After a moment, he grinned to himself and slowly removed his shirt, watching Sakura's face out of the corner of his eye.

She promptly ignored him (and his deliciously toned muscles) and wore her Game Face as she picked up the dice and rolled. Sakura stared down at the six and five in disbelief as she realized that Sasori's _St. Charles Place_ was eleven spaces away. Face twisting, she moved her Top Hat to the square and bumped the smirking redhead's Scottie Dog to the side with a pout.

Sasori chuckled and eyed the frowning pinkette.

"That's ten Ryo, Sakura-san."

She glared at him and picked out the money. She removed a sock as well and handed everything to Sasori, once again incredibly happy she'd put on more clothes.

Kakuzu rolled doubles and _Electric Company Utility_ and _Pennsylvania Railroad_ were soon his. He grinned to himself at the luck of getting two incredibly valuable spaces and tossed the dice to Kisame.

Kisame lucked out with doubles _twice_ and promptly bought _Vermont Avenue_, _Virginia Avenue_, and received fifty Ryo from the Bank. Luckily his third roll wasn't doubles and he wasn't sent to jail, much to the chagrin of the other players. Five shots of sake in and he simple grinned, ready for more.

Hidan's turn finally came and his grin quickly twisted into a scowl as he rolled a simple three. He bought _Baltic Avenue_, however, and accepted his shot of sake with a smirk.

The game progressed and both Tobi and Sasori bought new property. And after a bit of negotiating after Itachi landed on one of Tobi's properties, Tobi quickly decided that the Uchiha's stay was free of charge.

"I-Itachi-san doesn't need to glare at T-Tobi so much!"

Zetsu paid Kisame rent after landing on _Vermont Avenue_ with a bored air, passing his cloak to the ex-Kiri nin without a word.

Once again, Deidara landed on someone else's property and he was soon handing Kakuzu his fishnet undershirt, pouting at Sakura lack of reaction.

The pinkette rolled and landed on a _Community Chest_ space and received a _Get Out of Jail Free Card_ with a grin.

Kakuzu continued to luck out and landed on _Chance_, advancing to the nearest Railroad.

Unfortunately, Kisame was the first to be sent to jail. Interrogation began and he answered all the questions as they each took a shot.

"Seriously, why the hell do you have blue skin?"

"Hell if I know. Birth defect? Medical condition? Hereditary? I just never questioned it."

"Is it true that Kisame-san eats babies?"

"...Where the hell did you hear that Tobi?"

"...Around..."

"Well, it's a filthy lie and whoever told you can go die in a hole."

"That already happened once; it's not going to fucking happen again!"

"So, is eating fish kind of like cannibalism to you, or are you just half-shark so it's natural, un?"

"Shut up Blondie, that's another filthy lie."

"It was a serious question, un!"

And so on until they'd all asked their questions and it was Hidan's turn.

Who promptly landed on Kakuzu's property.

He practically threw his hitai-ate at the smirking man as he told the accursed game that Jashin-sama didn't appreciate fucking bastard board games and that they'd be burned in hell.

Tobi was stocking up on property and Itachi's silent glares did nothing to faze Sasori after landing on the redhead's space.

The Uchiha's shirt came off and Sakura felt her face heat up.

'_Damn those sexy Uchiha's with their godly good looks...'_

'_**You should be thanking the Kami's above for these delicious pieces of eye-candy, hun. Not cursing them.'**_

She frowned to herself and silently handed the _States Avenue_ card to Zetsu who had just bought the property.

Deidara rolled and, once again, he landed on Tobi's property. After letting loose a long string of curses he flicked the rent over at the entirely too happy man's spot and removed the hair-tie holding his hair ("Because that totally counts, un.").

Almost instantly after Sakura landed on and bought _Water Works Utility _(Kakuzu had landed on another _Chance_), Kisame rolled doubles and left the Jail, only to roll again and land on Sakura's newly bought property. He grinned and removed his shirt, tossing it to the pinkette along with twelve Ryo.

"Try not to tear my shirt up too bad, Kitten. I'll probably want it back after the game."

"No promises, Hammerhead."

Hidan rolls and, after a change of luck, landed on _Free Parking_. He accepted the shots and Ryo in the middle with a grin and flicked the dice over to Tobi. Who bought another piece of property. For what seemed like the hundredth time, he managed to get everyone to look away as he took his shot of sake, but it was evident that he couldn't hold his alcohol very well from his already slurred speech.

Sasori was the first to pass _Go_ and they all cheered as everyone took a shot. However, he frowned at the liquid, a buzz already humming at his head. He'd landed on _Community Chest_ and received one hundred Ryo, as well as another shot, with a sigh. How long did this game _last_?

_North Caroline Avenue_ was soon Itachi's and Zetsu rolled doubles. Sasori was much too distracted to realize that the bi-colored man had just landed on his property and Zetsu quickly rolled again.

Itachi was much more perceptive and silently demanded his twenty-six Ryo. Zetsu handed him the money and the sash around his pants with a frown as his two sides argued with each other.

This time, as he landed on Sakura's property, Deidara was much more willing to hand over an article of his clothing. He tossed her the sash around his pants and Sakura blinked in surprise, having been entirely too absorbed in the game and battle strategies ("Buy all the property!") to have noticed. She stared at him for a moment before laughing, balling the sash up and setting it beside her.

"You have the worst luck, don't you Deidara?"

Her grin soon vanished as she rolled and picked up the _Chance _card, reading the text with a frown.

"Go directly to jail."

Everyone seemed to perk up as she moved her Top Hat to the Jail box and they realized what that meant.

Interrogation.

As the men started thinking of what they were going to ask the pinkette, she suddenly smirked. She reached down and smiled to herself, flashing the object in her hand at them.

Sakura used her _Get Out of Jail Free Card._

Its super effective.

Deidara and Hidan groaned while Tobi simply pouted behind his mask. Kisame chuckled and sent her a toothy grin. Kakuzu snatched the card and placed it at the bottom of the deck as the others sent the rosette looks of various expressions (or lack thereof with Itachi). Sakura nudged her token over into the _Just Passing Through_ strip with a pleased smirk.

Kakuzu rolled and soon bought _Boardwalk_. Kisame landed on Sasori's property, but, unfortunately, the redhead was paying attention this time and the blue nin was handing over eighteen Ryo and his other sandal.

Hidan's loud "FUCK!" echoed through the room as he landed on _Go to Jail_ and his interrogation began.

"Were you aware of everything that was going on in that hole or did you just kind of blank out and wake up when they dug you out."

"Of course I knew what was going on. And let me tell you, bitch, it was fucking _boring_ in that shit hole. I only had fucking _worms _to preach to about Jashin-sama."

"What would you do if Jashin suddenly just decided that he didn't like you anymore and took away your immortality, un?"

"Like hell that'd ever happen. I'm Jashin-sama's most loyal disciple. He fucking _loves _me and my sacrifices."

"Why is Hidan-san so mean? Tobi thinks he should be happier!"

"Fuck you and your happiness."

And it went on until it was Tobi's turn to roll once again.

**::**

Sakura wasn't quite sure how it happened. Once moment she was kicking ass and landing almost purely on _Community Chest_ and _Chance_ and the next things she knew, her token had stopped on Deidara's _Illinois Avenue_ (one of the very few properties he had managed to buy). She stared down at the Top Hat unbelievingly as she realized that the only articles of clothing she had left were her shorts, tank top, and undergarments.

Deidara stared down at the board as well, disbelieving his luck's fortunate turn. Slowly, he looked up at her, a wide grin splitting his face. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see an identical grin appear on Hidan's face. Sakura frowned; they were enjoying this way too much.

She sat there for a few moments as she mentally decided which of her clothes to remove before sighing in exasperation. She stood, muttering an aggravated "Oh, fuck this." under her breath. The boys all seemed to lean forward slightly and she felt her face flush. All eyes were on the flustered pinkette as she quickly removed her shorts and sat back down in her spot, tossing the clothing to the grinning blonde.

Her face twisted into a scowl and she attempted to ignore their stares, her legs feeling entirely too bare with only her black underwear coving her lower half. At Deidara's nervous laugh, her hard gaze snapped to his face in question.

"Uh, that's sixteen Ryo for rent, un."

Sakura practically hissed and she flicked him the money, inwardly wondering why the Monopoly Gods had forsaken her. She crossed her arms and waited for the next person to go, but, at the boys' continued stares, she glanced down at the board and remembered that she'd rolled doubles. Face burning even more, she quickly snatched the dice and held her glass out to Kisame, silently demanding her sake.

As the flustered pinkette gulped down the shots she mentally figured how many spaces she was away from safety.

"I swear, if I don't land on _Free_ _Parking_ or _Community_ _Chest_..." she let the muttered threat hang in the air and tossed the dice onto the board. She moved her piece the appropriate number of spaces before freezing, eyes widening in horror. She quickly recounted the spaces, but the outcome was still the same.

She'd landed on Kisame's _New York Avenue_.

He had a house on that space.

He gets to _choose_ which of her clothes she forfeits to him.

This was Monopoly Karma acting against her for that time she'd swiped some of Naruto's cash, wasn't it?

Hidan and Deidara were watching Kisame expectantly while the other members glanced to and from the suddenly downcast pinkette and the grinning ex-Kiri shinobi.

But, as Kisame looked up and met Sakura's pleading gaze, an adorable pout at her lips, his grin slipped away and he almost choked. Her could practically hear her begging him to not ask for either of her undergarments. After a moment he relented and sent her a sheepish smile.

"Alright, alright. Just your tank, Kitten."

Sakura grinned in triumph and would have hugged him had she any less self-control. She reached down for the hem of her shirt, but paused as she noticed their gazes.

They were watching her _way_ too closely for her to be comfortable.

She breathed a little sigh and pulled the tank top up over her head and tossed it to Kisame, along with 25 Ryo for rent. She quickly crossed her arms over her matching black bra-covered chest and attempted to make herself as small as possible, eyes flitting about as she avoided the numerous amounts of stares directed at her. She blushed and mumbled an annoyed "Fucking perverted bastards." under her breath.

Hidan turned away with a hand held to his nose, shoulders shaking as he tried to control himself.

**::**

Kakuzu watched the shivering pinkette with vague interest. He didn't quite know how he felt about her joining the Akatsuki. She hadn't given him a reason to hate her, but he wasn't exactly incredibly fond of the kunoichi as of yet.

She was...interesting.

Hidan wasn't quite so intolerable with the girl nearby and she seemed to have had some sort of effect on the other members as well. If his sources were correct (as they usually were), she was the former teammate of the nine-tails' jinchuuriki.

She could be useful. In fact, Kakuzu bet that was why Pein hadn't had the girl killed yet. He was _planning _something. Kakuzu didn't ponder on what could be going through his leader's mind very long; the thought of the bounties he could collect made him inwardly giddy.

'_And,' _he thought as he mentally went over her information he'd read in the Bingo Book, _'It wouldn't be half bad to have an actual medic around. I'm getting tired of stitching Hidan's sorry ass back together all the time.'_

Speaking of...

Kakuzu looked over to Hidan and felt his lips turn down in a frown. He didn't like the way his idiot of a partner was watching the girl. There was something in the gleam of his eyes that set him on edge.

Had he been a lesser controlled, more animalistic man, he might have growled.

Hidan and that blonde bombist, they were both watching her with the same hungry look. He wanted to do something to stop them from staring at the kunoichi's exposed skin.

Kakuzu's turn to roll came and, before he realized what he was doing, he was counting how many spaces he was away from her nearest property and was tossing the dice. No one noticed an incredibly-thin thread snake out and make the dice fall the way he wanted, they were too busy looking elsewhere.

Everyone seemed to stare down at the board in shock as Kakuzu moved his piece to stop on Sakura's _Mediterranean Avenue_. They all sat there in a disbelieving silence. Even Itachi's eyebrows had gone up a miniscule amount.

Kakuzu _never_ landed on someone else's space.

Before anyone could speak, Kakuzu had calmly removed his cloak and, with a flick of his wrist, deposited it over the shocked pinkette's head. They all seemed to stare at him for a few moments, the room silent.

Hidan looked at his partner as if he'd suddenly grown a second head and announced that he was going to give all his cash to charity. Like, seriously, what the fuck?

Suddenly, Sakura grinned as she seemed to understand what had happened. She pulled the cloak off of her head and slipped her arms through the sleeves of the (oh my Kami, this thing is _huge_) cloak and sent Kakuzu a thankful grin. She wasn't so sure he had landed on her space on _purpose_, but she was sure as hell grateful he'd forfeited his cloak. Sakura pulled the cloak closer around her and sighed in bliss. It was so freaking _warm_.

Kakuzu caught her eye and understood her silent message. He felt the stitches on either side of his mouth tug slightly as he sent her a smirk and spoke.

"Don't get used to it, Princess."

She grinned in return and laughed, pushing the oversized sleeves up to gather at her elbows.

There were a few shared glances from the other men as they realized that they must have missed something, but the game continued without question.

However, both Hidan and Deidara were secretly sending Kakuzu venomous looks and had silently vowed to remove his cloak from Sakura's body.

**::**

As the night and game progressed and everyone became more and more drunk, Sakura became less concerned with her near-nudity and allowed a giddy buzz to thrum throughout her mind and body.

"Cha! I won the beauty pageant! That's fifty Ryo and a shot!"

She grinned victoriously as she pumped her fist into the air and held her shot glass out to Kisame. He filled her glass with a chuckle and tossed the empty bottle into the pile behind him, pulling another bottle out of seemingly nowhere. Sakura downed the sake in one gulp and slammed the cup down on the table with an alcohol-induced blush staining her cheeks.

Kakuzu's cloak had long since slipped off her shoulders to pool at her elbows, much like a shawl, but she'd made no attempt to fix it. Her eyes scanned the boys and glinted in amusement at what she saw.

Kisame and Kakuzu could apparently hold their alcohol pretty well, but she'd expected as much. They were both slightly buzzed but sober enough to be aware of their surroundings. On the other hand, Tobi had long since passed out and been booted from the game, his winnings clutched tightly in his fist as he snoozed on the couch.

Both Itachi and Sasori had forfeited once they figured they'd had enough alcohol and kept what money they had left. Itachi had slipped off to his room some time ago and Sasori was curled up on one of the recliners, watching the others continue the game with drowsy eyes. He was close to falling asleep and would most likely do so soon.

Deidara sighed and rubbed the back of his head before picking up his cannon. "Alright, un. I quit."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at him and nudged Kisame for another shot of sake. "Why're you quitting, blondie?"

He grinned weakly and reached over to where Tobi was, quickly snatching his pants and putting them back on. "There's no hope, un, and I don't wanna lose the rest of my cash." He gestured to the gameboard and stuffed his money into his pocket. "Zetsu's gone and monopolized practically half the board, un!"

Hidan nodded wisely and grabbed the sake bottle next to Kisame. He was completely comfortable in just his boxers and he stood to plop down next to Sakura, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Dei-dei's right, Sak. I say we all call it fucking quits while we still gots some cash and just party for the rest of the night until we all fucking pass out drunk." He slurred with an intoxicated grin.

Everyone else seemed to agree and Kakuzu took that as his cue to pass out the money from the bank before putting the game up. Zetsu grinned from his seat and gestured for Kisame to pass him another bottle of sake, content with being the unanimously decided victor. No one would notice, some hours later, when he disappeared with two bottles in hand.

Sakura removed Hidan's arm from around her shoulder and stood, trudging into the kitchen for a much deserved snack. She heard laughter come from the living room and she smiled to herself as she searched the cabinets. These guys weren't half bad to be around – when they weren't trying to kill her at least.

Kisame waltzed into the kitchen and raised an eyebrow at her, a bottle of sake held in his hand. "Whatcha lookin' for, Kitten?"

"Something to eat, I'm famished." She muttered as she soothed away a small headache with a bit of chakra.

He nodded to himself before walking over to reach for the cupboard above her head. "I think we got some cup ramen in here."

Sakura felt her face heat up slightly as her back was pressed against the counter behind her and his very bare chest became very close to her face. She eyed the faint scar that Chiisai had left from their battle and tried to ignore his (oh my god, they're rippling) muscles and waited for him to step back.

Foam cup in hand, Kisame looked down at her and sent her a sharky grin. "Chicken alright, Kitten?"

She sniffed and stepped around him, plucking the cup from his hand. "Perfectly acceptable. Thank you, Hammerhead."

He laughed and turned the stove on as she put filled a teapot with water. "You can hold your sake pretty good, huh? I'd half expected you to be giggling and tripping all over the place after as many glasses as you'd had."

Sakura snorted and set the pot on the burner, crossing her arms as she leaned against the counter and smirked at him. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Oh?" he replied, taking a swig from the sake bottle.

"Yup."

Kisame chuckled and Hidan stumbled into the kitchen with a grin plastered across his face.

"Yo! Yo, Sak! Blondie and I wanna know what rank you are!"

"What?" she answered, head tilting to the side slightly.

"Y'know, y'know! Fucking genin, chuunin, that sort of shit. You're not a fucking genin are ya? Cause that'd be some messed up shit. Like, how old are you? Fuckin' 14, 15? Don't take this personally, but you look real kiddie sized." He slurred as he plopped down into one of the stools around the island counter.

Sakura seemed slightly offended and crossed her arms. "I'm a freaking jounin; I took my test almost two years ago. I haven't been a genin in _ages_. Heck, if I'd stayed in Konoha I would have taken the ANBU test eventually. And fucking passed that shit with flying colors."

Kakuzu and Deidara soon joined them in the kitchen, the latter sending her a curious look. "Yeah, but how old are you, un? I was expecting you'd be somewhere around a high chuunin or jounin. It takes some real talent to punch an entire chasm in the ground, especially considering how dainty you look, un."

Sakura pouted and fiddled with the sleeves of Kakuzu's cloak, eyeing the boys from under her lashes. "I'm almost nineteen. Like, seriously. Do I _really_ look that young? You'd think eight or so years of being a ninja would age a person, particularly a medic." She sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, eyes traveling over the lines in the ceiling. "You wouldn't _believe_ some of the messed up stuff I've seen in the hospital. I'm surprised I don't have gray hair yet." Sakura muttered to herself.

Hidan seemed relieved as he tossed an orange from hand to hand. "Nineteen? That's fucking fantastic, now I don't feel like such a fucking pedo." He murmured with a slight grin.

Sakura sent him a raised eyebrow, pulling the cloak up onto her shoulders. "Huh? What did you say Hidan?"

He chuckled and decided to throw the orange at Kakuzu rather than answer. Not even sparing his partner a glance, Kakuzu caught the fruit and leaned against the doorframe, eyeing Sakura.

"Didn't Suna attack Konoha during one of the Chuunin Exams? And the Hokage was killed by Orochimaru?" He asked suddenly. Everyone seemed interested in what he'd said and they all looked over at Sakura expectantly.

She groaned but nodded slowly. "Yeah, that was my first Chuunin Exam. But the Third wasn't killed. He sealed part of Orochimaru during their battle and sacrificed himself. The whole Suna attack was Orochimaru's doing, but, man, that Exam was _crazy_." She glanced over at Kisame with a little grin stretching her lips. "You know that thing I did in our fight? With the shadow clones?"

He chuckled and nodded, "Yup, that was pretty clever, Kitten. I honestly didn't expect that last bunshin to be the real you."

Sakura's grin widened. "I came up with that during my Chuunin Exam when I was stuck in the Forest of Death with two incapacitated teammates and three Orochimaru-influenced Sound nin looking for blood. This was back when my brain was my only resource and I was more obsessed with appearance than actual substance." She frowned as she thought back to her genin days. "Thinking back, it's really surprising that I survived everything. I guess I really owe it to my teammates for protecting me so often." She groaned and shook her head. "Man, I'd rather go through that fight with puppet-man a thousand more times than go back to the way I used to be – the weakest link of my team."

Deidara snorted, a smirk crossing his face. "Honestly? I find it pretty hard to imagine you weak and helpless, un. Seeing someone punch of a person's head clean off their body really leaves a kick-ass impression, y'know?"

The pinkette snickered and poured the boiling water into her cup-ramen once the teapot started whining. "Let's change the subject. What were you guys' Exams like? Despite the insanity of my first, my second was pretty tame and I passed with ease."

The blonde visibly shuddered and Kisame laughed. "Man, un. Iwa's Exams are freaking _brutal_. You get pitted against two chuunin or a jounin and, if you last at least ten minutes, you get passed onto the next stage, un. I don't really remember much after the first part, I think there was some sort of solo-survival in the mountains somewhere, but it was all a blur." He shrugged and crossed his arms. "Second part changes every year, un. And it's been forever since I took mine."

Sakura looked over at Kisame with a raised eyebrow. "What about Kiri? Are they like the old Academy Graduation test or something else?"

He seemed slightly surprised and sent her an incredulous look. "How do you know about the old test, Kitten? That's well before your time and one of Kirigakure's dirtier secrets."

She rubbed the back of her neck and thought back to Team Seven's first major mission, flashes of one of the most memorable times of her life passing through her mind. "A bit before the Chuunin Exam, my genin team was assigned a C-rank mission to escort a man back to Wave at the insisting of one of my teammates. As it turned out, the man was the head bridge-builder of Wave's project to create a bridge to the mainland and just so happened to have assassins after him. C-rank became A-rank but it was too late to return to Konoha so went kept with the mission." She looked over at Kisame here, lips tilting up. "One of those assassins happened to be the rouge nin Momochi Zabuza."

Kisame's eyes widened in shock. "Zabuza? So that's what happened to him?"

She nodded before her face became downcast, gaze falling to the floor. "It was very...emotional, what happened. The unfairness of it all and the tragedy of Haku, I – I don't think I'll ever forget it." She took a breath and looked up, "In the end, we all learned an important lesson and Zabuza died a hero in his own way."

The other's seemed slightly confused by her words but Kisame didn't question her further and simply thought back to his time as one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

Sakura shook her head and checked her ramen, figuring it was ready. After grabbing some chopsticks, she started to chow down and returned her gaze to the boys. "So, Chuunin Exams?"

They snapped out of the silence and Hidan snorted to himself. "Yugakure was fucking stupid to become a tourist city, I swear." He muttered under his breath. The rosette sent him a curious look before she leaned forward, expression turning incredulous.

"Wait, don't tell me..."

Hidan looked away, face turning red.

The others looked between the two in confusion.

Sakura stifled a laugh and hid her broken grin behind her ramen cup. "You never took your Chuunin Exam?"

Hidan glared, lips pouting slightly, and threw a grapefruit at her, his answer apparent.

Kisame and Deidara burst into laughter and Kakuzu sent a highly amused smirk at his flustered partner. Deidara grinned cheekily and spoke. "So, wait, un. You're technically still a _genin_?"

The Jashinist growled. "Shut it blondie, I could kick you're fucking girly ass all the way to Kuma and back."

The blonde continued to laugh and Sakura attempted to calm Hidan down before he attacked the bombist.

"Okay, okay, that's enough. We all know you'd be ranked somewhere in the high jounin, Hidan. You nearly killed me a number of times in our fight; _I _know you're nowhere near genin level." She said as she set her empty cup down and pat Hidan's shoulder. He grinned at her suddenly and wrapped his arm around her waist. Sakura could only squeak in surprise as she was suddenly whisked out of the kitchen and back into the living room, Hidan pulling her to the ground as he took a swig from a sake bottle she hadn't noticed.

The room soon filled with laughter and conversation as the others joined the two and Tobi woke up, everyone becoming increasingly drunk. As Sakura sat there in nothing but her underwear, a bottle of sake in hand and the arms of a pair of extremely drunk criminals draped over her shoulders, she realized that everything she thought she knew about the Akatsuki was dead wrong. These guys weren't any more monstrous than other shinobi were.

What more did the following months have in store for her?

**::**

Sometime during the night, the rain had stopped. The morning rays of sunlight broke through the windows of the living room, casting happy glows over the faces of the slumbering seven. Sakura groaned as she rolled over in her sleep, frowning as her head began to throb. Well, that was just great – her head hurt and her pillow was uncomfortably lumpy and stiff.

She sighed and let her eyes flutter open, wincing at the bright sunlight. After a moment, her eyes adjusted and she looked around the room. Sake bottles and still-sleeping men lay scattered over the floor and what looked like rice balls were splattered against one of the walls. Her gaze traveled to the ceiling and she raised an eyebrow at the kunai embedded above, a few pinning more rice balls.

What had happened last night? She could vaguely remember Tobi making rice balls like he had promised and then some sort of fight between Deidara and Hidan and an incredibly annoyed Sasori but the rest was a blur.

She groaned again at her headache and attempted to sit up, suddenly craving some tea. However, she was unable to leave the couch and found a large weight pinning her down. She looked down at her stomach, face twisting at the tan, bare arm thrown over her equally-bare middle. The pinkette's eyes followed the arm and eventually up and over her shoulder.

It was then that Sakura realized that she was curled up against Kakuzu, his arm lying lazily over her stomach and his shirtless chest her 'lumpy and stiff' pillow.

Her cheeks flushed involuntarily and she thanked Kami that he was still asleep. His face was peaceful and she found herself studying the stitches that ran across his chest, shoulders, and arms. She felt movement on her legs and her gaze snapped down to see Kisame, sitting just in front of the couch with his head resting on her thigh. He leaned against the cushions in his sleep, a bottle of sake held loosely in his hand. How had she missed that extra weight on her leg?

Sakura sighed and rubbed her head with the hand that wasn't pinned under Kakuzu's arm as she picked out the other men in the room.

Deidara was splayed out across one of the recliners, his mass of hair thrown over one of the arms and brushing the ground. Hidan laid in the middle of the floor, curled up around a pillow and a dark mark of drool staining the cloth. Sasori slept peacefully in the other recliner, where he had remained undisturbed for most of the night. She noticed Tobi sleeping on the other end of the couch, her legs in his lap.

Everyone was deep asleep and would most likely remain so for another hour or two.

With a kunoichi's grace, Sakura removed Kakuzu's arm from her middle, gently lifted Kisame's head, and left the couch without disturbing any of the three. She picked her way across the room and slipped into the kitchen. Forgoing the tea for now, she found a glass and opened the refrigerator to grab the carton of milk inside.

Glass of milk in hand, she soothed away her hangover with some cool chakra and quietly walked down the hallway. She realized that Kakuzu's cloak was gone and she felt incredibly exposed in just her underwear. Grimacing to herself, Sakura found her room quickly. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her, bee lining for her clothes.

"I'll have to steal my other clothing back from them later." She mused to herself as she set down her milk and picked out a green shirt and some loose, cargo shorts. The rosette entered her bathroom and freshened up, quickly putting on her chosen clothes, brushing her teeth, and running a comb through her unruly hair. Soothing away the crick in her neck, she stepped back into her room, freezing as she noticed the silent form standing just inside the doorway, red eyes watching her emotionlessly.

She quickly put on a calm face and adjusted her stance, crossing her arms and putting her weight on her left leg, as she regarded Itachi.

"Is there something you want, Uchiha-san?"

His face didn't change as he spoke and Sakura felt a cold chill shoot up her spine.

"To spar."

**::**

_Trance to the dance tune  
>Under a full moon<br>And a reason to... _

**::**

**notes:** So, almost all of that game of Monopoly was played out by myself. I rolled as each member to see who went when and wrote down who landed on what to make everything more believable and entertaining. But, the last half of the game was more of just meh. It was completely by chance that Sakura and Deidara ended up next to each other...

It kind of bothered me, having such modern and Westernized names considering America wouldn't really be in the Ninja-verse, but it was fun~

Also, Happy Birthday Shout-Out to _StormDragon666_ and _Gigicerisier_! Go do these wonderful ladies a favor and check out Storm's awesome stories (and leave a review! That is, if you haven't already read everything she's ever written...) and Gigi's beautiful SasoSaku drawings on deviantART! Love you guys!

Next chapter is something I've been looking forward to for quite some time. You guys ready for another fight?

You're all probably wondering what's up with Itachi, I'm sure. But, worry not, you'll get your answers in the next chapter C:

Once again, I'm so sorry for such a late update. Hopefully, the next update won't be another so-and-so months. You can all give a big thank you to _A Happy Psycosis/Cracker-nin/Em_ for this udpate!

Be sure to check out my two latest oneshots that were a part of my Spring Spectacular (which is still technically ongoing, but I'm not sure what I'll be working on next. I have this new story that I'm going to start soon...).

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading! And thanks so much for all the reviews from the last chapter!

Reviews = Love = Happiness = Inspiration = Faster Updates = More Smiles

Create some smiles, people.

**::Thirrin73::**


	7. Chapter Six: Unsettling Enlightenment

**notes:** So, I'd honestly thought I'd update _**Just a Little Bit**_ again before I updated this, but here we are. Some parts of this are shorter than I originally planned, but I think it should all turn out good.

Thanks for all the reviews guys! We reached 300 and are only fifty away from _400_. You guys know I love you, right?

Anyways, not much more to say. No more stalling; enjoy the chapter!

See you at the bottom.

**::**

_**Sugar Cube**_

_**-Chapter Six-**_

_**Unsettling Enlightenment**_

**::**

_I think you know  
>Tonight's the night<br>I'm gonna touch you, taste you, tease you show you  
>What I've been waiting for<em>

**::**

_**November 18, 8:15 AM**_

Sakura sort of stared at Itachi for a few minutes, trying to fully comprehend what he had just said. Finally, she managed to wrap her head around his words and she sent him a vaguely confused look.

"Spar? What? Why?"

Itachi promptly ignored her questions and turned, heading back out into the hallway.

"Training grounds. Ten minutes." He called back, obviously denying her the privilege of a choice.

She openly gaped at the place he had just been standing, eyebrows furrowing as her eye started to twitch. Damn Uchiha bastards; what if she didn't _feel_ like sparing with him? Groaning in frustration, she saw no way out of this and quickly grabbed her weapons pouch. She didn't think she'd need much (it was just a friendly spar amongst colleagues, right?) and, though she really wanted to play a bit with Chiisai, she knew she'd be relying more on speed than anything so she took the bare minimal.

Black gloves in hand, she hurried out into the hallway and quickly made her way to the back exit that Deidara had showed her. She eventually made it past the sparse trees and to the training grounds. There was a cool breeze in the air but the sky had cleared up to let the sun warm everything up slightly.

She spotted Itachi standing up ahead of her, dressed in simple training clothes. He was wearing a calm, expressionless face but there was something in his eyes that didn't sit right with her. He was watching her with the type of gaze a cat gives a cornered mouse.

Predatory.

"So," she called out, hiding her hesitancy well enough, "Is this just going to be non-chakra, hand-to-hand combat or w-!"

She wasn't able to finish her sentence because, in the next second, she was dodging a speeding kunai that was aimed for her head.

She ducked down into a crouch, gaping at the three strands of pink hair floating in the air. Her thoughts finally caught up with her and her stunned gaze darted to Itachi.

Had she had any slower reflexes she would have been laying on the ground in a heap with a kunai embedded in her skull.

"You tried to kill me." she mumbled to herself, expression dazed before her eyebrows turned down as she glared. "You were _actually_ trying to _kill_ me!" she shouted at him, voice mixed with shock and anger.

He watched her with an air of indifference, another kunai in hand.

Time slowed for a few moments and Sakura's brain processed everything with lightning speed and accuracy.

She'd just made a crucial mistake.

An incredibly _stupid_ mistake.

She'd accepted an offer to spar from _Uchiha freaking **Itachi**_**.** Hell, she'd barely managed to survive the last two fights she was in and she was still alive only because she'd gotten lucky in one and her opponent in the other had gone easy on her.

She was in no way prepared to battle this man.

And he knew it.

He'd planned it perfectly.

They were far enough away from the building that no one would hear him _murdering_ her. And the guys were all passed out drunk. No one would be coming to her aid.

He would simply say that she'd (stupidly, stupidly, _stupidly_) gotten into a fight with him and he'd finished her off. Probably make up something about her being a spy.

Which was true and all but-

She was going to die and it would be her own damn fault.

"_Fuck_."

**::**

The moment Itachi has laid eyes on the girl, he had recognized her. It had taken him a moment to put a name to the face but, when he did, his incredibly intelligent mind had put all the pieces together and seen ahead at least ten moves. This _girl_ would destroy _everything_ he had worked on for the past eleven years. He'd thought his mission was finally over when he had died but then the Akatsuki brought him back and he had no choice but to continue with his ruse.

He would use his time to continue to spy on the Akatsuki and subtly sabotage their plans.

But this Haruno Sakura appeared...

She was the Hokage's apprentice – she knew valuable information that if she gave to the Akatsuki Konoha would be in immediate danger. She was going to ruin _everything_.

And this stupid kunoichi, why would she have _possibly_ betrayed Konoha? It disgusted him. Every rouge-nin he had come across disgusted him.

He couldn't afford for her to mess anything up. He'd made his mind up, then and there.

He was going to kill the pink-haired kunoichi before she could do anything.

Itachi had deftly watched her throughout the evening, waiting for the perfect moment. Eventually, he had tired of their game and left to formulate a plan. And now, here he was, moments away from killing the girl that was jeopardizing so much.

She was quick, he'd give her that. He threw a few more kunai at her before darting forward, moving so fast his punches and kicks were a blur. She attempted to block as many of his advances as she could but he was too quick. It wouldn't be long, he knew it.

However, the kunoichi was smart. She hadn't once made eye contact and had effectively avoided his Mangekyou, even as he attacked her. Hatake had been her sensei; perhaps he had trained her to fight Sharingan?

But, it didn't matter.

Kunai in hand, he sliced at her. She surprised him by catching his wrist as he cut the edge of her shoulder. She pulled back her free hand, formed a fist, and, ignoring the blood running down her lip, threw a punch at him. She continued to keep her eyes down but he could tell that the look in her eyes had changed from angry determination to horrified shock when he caught her hand before she landed a punch.

With the flick of his hand, he broke her wrist and then flipped her onto her back as he slipped his other hand out of her grip. She jumped back up quicker than he anticipated but he simply wrapped his hand around her throat and held a kunai against her neck. Her eyes snapped shut and she growled under her breath, her other hand curling into a fist.

Moving quickly, Itachi grabbed both her wrists and shoved her against one of the trees nearby. With her arms pinned above her head and his hand around her throat, Itachi finally spoke.

"Open your eyes, kunoichi, and face your death."

She lashed out, legs kicking wildly and he let go of her neck momentarily to firmly punch her in the stomach. Her breath was forced out of her lungs and her eyes snapped open, just as he'd expected. In the next moment, he'd moved into her line of sight and caught her eye.

She only managed a gasp before she was trapped in his Tsukuyomi.

**::**

Sakura muttered curses under her breath as he flung a few more kunai at her. She dodged, trying to keep her gaze away from his face, and blocked as many of his punches and kicks as she could, but soon realized that Itachi was literally beating her to a pulp. He was too fast for her, that much was obvious.

She bobbed and weaved and blocked and tried to land a few of her own hits but nothing was _working_. Her lip was bleeding and her arms were sore and _dammit_ why couldn't she keep up? She was panicking and even Inner's encouraging words weren't registering.

There was no way she would be able to beat him!

But maybe if she got closer to the building, the sound of their fight might alert the others.

Sakura quickly squashed this thought. As much as some of them seemed to like her, there was no way that they'd take her word over Itachi's.

They'd just kill her quicker.

Her only hope was to avoid as many of his hits as possible and try to escape.

Her eyes caught the glint of metal in his hand as he sliced a kunai through the air at her. She gritted her teeth as the blade tore through her shoulder and her hand darted up to grab his wrist. Her free hand curled into a fist and she pulled her arm back, face set in determination as she glared at his chest.

If she could get just _one_ hit in...

She threw her fist forward, waiting for the inevitable smack of flesh on flesh, but her eyes widened in horror when he managed to catch her hand before she could hit him. She mentally shrieked in frustration but the sound of bone snapping and the abrupt flame of searing pain in her wrist quickly sobered her up.

She inwardly screamed as she ground her teeth together to block out the pain of her broken wrist. Without missing a beat, Itachi flipped her onto her back and twisted his wrist free from her grip. Her body slamming against the muddy forest floor only brought on a new round of pain.

But Sakura wasn't one to go down without a _hell_ of a fight. She sprang back up onto her feet, fueled only by pure rage and stubbornness.

His hand was around her throat in the next moment, the chill of cold metal pressed against her skin, and Inner's screams were pushed to the back of her head as she saw spots. Her eyes snapped shut as she growled to herself and she formed a fist with her other, unharmed hand.

Itachi responded by pinning her to a tree with her arms held painfully above her head, his hand still curled around her neck.

She was breathing erratically, utterly terrified, and his words only vaguely registered in her mind.

"Open your eyes, kunoichi, and face your death."

Sakura stubbornly kept her eyes shut and kicked at him furiously, wishing she'd taken Hidan's advice and stayed away from the sadistic Uchiha. His grip around her throat tightened before disappearing.

Confusion lasted only a moment before he was burying his fist in her middle and her breath left her lungs in a whoosh. She choked on the lack of air and her eyes snapped open out of reflex.

In the next second, her vision was centered on hauntingly beautiful, crimson eyes.

She managed to release a gasp before her surroundings melted away.

Everything was black and white, drained of all color except for the blood-red sky that stretched on forever above her. The earth around her was dead and dry, a sickly black that looked too unnatural to be real.

She was pinned to a large wooden cross, she realized after a moment. Her arms and legs strapped down by metal bands. Her breathing was disturbingly calm and it wasn't long before Itachi appeared, standing before her with a katana in his hand.

Tsukuyomi. Kakashi-sensei had recalled his horrible experience to her and Naruto years ago and his story still unsettled her. Kami above, she was horrified.

She stared ahead, caught under his cold gaze.

"Your seventy-two hours of torture begin now, Haruno Sakura." He said, his voice warped and emotionless.

She gasped and screamed as he plunged the katana into her left shoulder and then procured another from seemingly nowhere and stabbed it into her thigh. One into her right arm and another through her knee and two into her stomach.

The horrible, horrible pain was _tenfold_ what it would feel like in the real world.

'_Wait.'_

Sakura's screams stopped abruptly as her head fell forward, her chin resting against her chest, her eyes staring ahead unseeingly. Itachi paused, another two katana held in his hands. Had he broken her already?

"K-kakashi-sensei said that, th-though it seemed r-real, it was a-all in his head. That n-none of it _was_ real." She muttered under her breath, the pain causing her to stutter.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at her. "I will make sure that it seems as real as possible, Haruno-san, do not worry."

She slowly looked up at him, a smirk stretching across her bloody face.

"Y-you've obviously never been inside _my_ head before, Uchiha-san."

His eyebrows furrowed minutely at her cryptic words and he was about to silence her with a katana to the throat and continue when a disturbing yell sounded in his ear. Itachi's head whipped to the right to see a second Sakura racing towards him – a perfectly healthy and unbound Sakura.

_"_**_Shannaro!_ Get out of my head you fucker!" **She screamed as she charged at him, a fist already pulled back and encased in a strange mixture of blue, black, and gold.

In the next moment, the second Sakura's fist had connected with his face and he was sent flying backwards. Just seconds before he was propelled away, he had caught a glimpse of a strange kanji written on her forehead. A stark white in contrast to her pitch black skin.

'Inner Sakura'.

His mind was a flurry of thoughts as he tried to discern what this meant, but this 'Inner Sakura' was already running at him again and pulling him up by the front of his shirt. She punched him repeatedly in the face and abdomen, each time grabbing his shirt once he flew back a bit so he couldn't escape her wrath. Each punch only accented her furious words.

"**Fuck. _You._ And. Your. _Sharingan. Eyes._ You. Fucking. _Bastard._ This. Is. **_**My**_**. Fucking. Domain!" **Her face was twisted with rage and, with one last shout, she held him up and smashed her head against his in a vicious head-butt.

"_**Get **__**out**_**!"**

The moment their forehead met, a brief, bright light flashed and both of their expressions turned into ones of shock and confusion, eyes staring ahead unseeing. After a few seconds they were both thrown apart and Inner Sakura held her hands to her head as she screamed. Behind her, Itachi's jutsu melted away and before Sakura knew what was happening, she was no longer pinned to the cross.

Instead, she was lying in a heap in the grass of the Akatsuki's training grounds, a horrible headache throbbing behind her skull. She groaned and rolled over, hand held tenderly to her head. She tried to usher some cooling chakra to her forehead to relieve some of the pain but the headache was still there.

Sakura sat up slowly, her vision gradually clearing as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight. She was sore all over, especially her neck, and she could still _feel_ the sting of the swords. She looked around after a moment and spotted Itachi laying a few feet away from her, sprawled out on his back.

With a sudden adrenaline rush and feeling of horror, she jumped and scooted away from him, hands flying to her weapons pouch. After a few seconds, he still hadn't moved so she breathed a sigh of relief. He was breathing, so he must have been unconscious. He groaned in his sleep every so often and Sakura was left wondering if he was suffering from a horrible headache as well.

For a moment, she contemplated killing him. It would be so easy.

But, for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to move towards him. So, Sakura sighed and slowly rose to her feet, careful to not make any sudden movements to worsen her headache.

"What happened?" She muttered to herself, slowly making her way back to the building, leaning on trees to balance herself.

She paused suddenly as she realized she'd just _escaped_ Uchiha Itachi's notorious Tsukuyomi with minimal damage (mentally, at least. She felt like her arms were going to _fall off_). She froze, eyes widening in shock.

"What the _hell_?"

Sakura tried to think back to what had happened. She remembered Inner appearing and fighting Itachi. That had been incredibly lucky. It reminded her a lot of her fight with Ino at the Chuunin Exams, but much more stunning.

Speaking of her inner self, she was unsettling quiet at the moment.

Worried, Sakura leaned against a tree and closed her eyes. She ignored her throbbing headache and inwardly spoke.

'_Inner? Are you still here?'_

'_**Yeah, hun. But, **_**damn**_**, everything hurts.'**_

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, but a feeling of overwhelming foreboding was still washed over her.

'_Something's wrong. I can _feel_ it. What happened?'_

Inner was silent and Sakura groaned, focusing inwardly on her inner self. She could just barely visualize her, standing in the darkness of her mind, a worried and unsettled look on her face.

'_What's wrong.'_ She demanded, massaging her neck and shoulders.

'_**I...**_**saw**_** something. Something I don't think I – **_**we **_**were supposed to see.'**_

A chill shot down Sakura's spine as she gradually made her way back to the building. _'What?'_

'_**There's more to Uchiha Itachi than we – **_**anyone**_** knows.'**_

**::**

_Sugar cube  
>Tonight's the night<br>I'm gonna make you, take you, face you, shake you  
>Right down to the dance floor<em>

**::**

**notes: **Well, there we go. I had wanted to write the next chapter as well before posting this, but I've got something else I want to post and I need to work on my entry for _StormDragon666_'s newest oneshot contest. I hope no one minds the shortness of this chapter!

Finals are next week, but, luckily, I've exempted most of my tests. But, then I'm graduating June 1st so I'll be busy for a while. _Then_ I'm leaving for Europe June 17 and won't be back until July 5. I'll post something on my profile about that so you guys aren't completely left in the dark.

Anyways, I've got the prologue and the first two chapters of a _Vampire_ _Knight_/_Naruto _crossover written down and I'll be typing them up soon and posting the prologue (probably tomorrow). I've also got another story that I'm going to start that I've been brainstorming with a friend of mine. I've got most of the prologue for that written down but won't be posting any of it until I at least have three chapters ready beforehand.

**_Just a Little Bit_**'s update will be a while but, hopefully, I'll update it before I leave for my trip.

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I've had most of what happened planned since the beginning of the story and it's a huge relief to finally write it! :D Hopefully, you guys won't have to wait a month or two for the next chapter!

Thanks for reading!

Reviews = Love = Happiness = Inspiration = Faster Updates = More Smiles

Create some smiles people.

**::Thirrin73::**


	8. Chapter Seven: The Walls Come Crumbling

**notes:** Guys. _Guys._ Over 450 reviews. _Guys, what am I doing right and how can I keep doing it?_ Seriously, though. I love each every one of you readers and can't thank you enough for sticking with me and my much-too-long-what-are-you-doing-Thirrin-hurry-up updates.

Thank you all for being so patient with me! I'm so sorry this took so long to be updated.

From here on, I won't be adding lyrics to the beginning and end of the chapter. Though I doubt anyone even reads them.

Also, I had originally planned on pairing Naruto with Hinata, but I think I'm going to leave that out. It gives me a chance to have a lot more NaruSaku drama.

So, without further ado, the long-awaited seventh chapter of _Sugar Cube_!

Enjoy!

See you at the bottom.

**::**

**_Sugar Cube_**

**_-Chapter Seven-_**

**_The Walls Come Crumbling Down_**

**::**

**November 18, 9:05 AM**

Naruto grinned back at his teammates and crouched down on a branch, waiting for them to catch up. That mission had been _easy_ and they'd finished much quicker than anticipated. Now, only about ten minutes away from Konoha, he was urging them to hurry after a few days of whining that there was no rush and they had plenty of time to just laze around in Wave. But, during hat last day of pretending to be tourists, he'd found a little antique shop and decided to use a little time for himself.

He'd immediately spotted a pretty necklace with a star pendant just inside the shop and found himself grinning in delight. It reminded him of the Star festival that was only a week away and how Sakura-chan had missed it the last few years. It was her favorite festival but missions and hospital-duty had kept her from attending and Naruto had decided, then and there, that he'd surprise her with the gift and make sure she went to the festival this year.

Now, with the necklace safely tucked away, Naruto couldn't _wait_ to get back to Konoha.

"Geeze, Naruto," Kiba panted as he landed on a branch above him, Akamaru at his side, "Slow down, will ya'? We're all excited to get home but _come on_!"

Naruto snorted and stood up, gaze darting to Neji who gracefully landed on a nearby branch. "You guys were all for hurrying the mission along, 'ttebayo!"

"Yeah, but no one was as much troublesome stamina as you." Shikamaru replied, wiping some sweat from his forehead as he stopped on a tree limb below the irritated Hyuuga.

The blond huffed and crossed his arms, waiting for the group to catch their breath. After a few minutes, they were all ready and Naruto took off, his grin returning. The wall of Konoha soon came into view and Neji announced that he'd be turning the mission report in to Tsunade. Once past the gates, they bid each other farewell and dispersed.

Naruto practically skipped to Sakura's apartment, holding the necklace gently in his hand. He passed by the Yamanaka Flower Shop and glanced in through the display window to see Ino huddled over the counter. She must have felt his gaze because she suddenly looked up, expression forlorn, and met his eye. Naruto grinned and waved in greeting, not noticing the look on her face, and quickly returned to his journey.

He was somewhat surprised when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see a worried Ino.

"Oh, hey, Ino. I-"

"I have to tell you something Naruto." She interrupted, gaze on the ground.

He groaned and rocked on his heels, eager to visit Sakura.

"Can it wait? I'm kind of heading over-"

"No, Naruto. This is _important_." Ino interjected once more, looking up at him.

It was then that he vaguely noticed that her normally happy-blue eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, as if she'd been crying recently. As much as it pained him, he forced this to the back of his mind, promising to check with her later.

"Come on Ino, I just got back and I want to go see Sakura-chan!"

"That's the problem! You can't!" she cried, her hands balling to fists.

He blinked in surprise, eyebrows furrowing at her. "What? Why not?"

"She's not _here_, Naruto!"

He froze, regarding the distressed Ino with shocked eyes.

"What...?" Naruto whispered, feeling the necklace slip through his fingers to fall to the ground as she answered.

"She's _gone_, Naruto. Sakura's disappeared."

**::**

**10:00 AM**

Head still throbbing, Sakura finally made it to her room and quickly locked it behind her. She fell onto the bed after healing herself and laid there for a few minutes, staring up at the ceiling.

'_What are you talking about? What did I __–__ you __–_we_ see?__' _she inwardly questioned, letting her eyes close.

**'_It__'__s what I _didn't_ let you see that__'__s bothering me_.'**

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed.

'_What are you keeping from me? Show me. Whatever it is, I can handle it.__'_

She scowled at the windy sigh that echoed through her mind.

**'_That__'__s the thing, hun. You _can't_ handle it. If I were to stop suppressing this and let the foreign memories in, it would literally tear apart your mind.__'_**

Sakura's eyes snapped open.

'_What?__'_

**'_That__'__s probably what__'__s wrong with Uchiha; couldn__'__t handle-__'_**

"Wait." Sakura said aloud, sitting up. "You mean he saw inside _my_ mind?"

Panic welled up inside her quickly at Inner's silence.

"_Well_?"

**'_...Yes.__'_**

"What did he see?" she whispered, dread steadily growing.

**'_Everything.__'_**

**::**

Several minutes later, Sakura was still huddled on the bed, eyes wide with terror.

"That's it. I'm doomed. He knows _everything_."

**'_Hush, babe.__' _**Came Inner's voice, reassuring and calm, **_'__If what I saw was true, I don__'__t think he__'__ll be turning us in to the Akatsuki.__'_**

"Of course he will!" she whispered harshly. "He was trying to _kill_ me!"

**'_Only because he thought we were compromising his mission!__'_**

"_What_ mission?"

Inner fell silent and Sakura groaned, massaging her forehead.

**'_Just trust me, doll. I think...I think Itachi may be on our side.__'_**

Sakura sighed and fell backwards onto her back.

"_Fine_. Let's say he _isn__'__t _going to blow my cover. I'm still going to take the precaution of avoiding him until I can get this figured out."

**'_Okay, fair enough.__'_**

Sakura rolled off the bed and stood up, beginning to pace.

"Now, how do I get rid of this headache? Its intolerable and distracting."

Another mental sigh.

**'_I can push his memories to the back of your mind to reduce it to that annoying sensation that you__'__ve forgotten something. But, to completely get rid of the migraine, you__'__ll have to get rid of your _desire_ to see the foreign memories and forget them completely.__'_**

Sakura paused, frowning to herself.

"That won't work. I'm too curious. I'll just have to do with _that_ feeling."

The headache quickly disappeared but the nagging sensation popped up soon afterwards. Luckily, the rosette was a pro at ignoring this feeling and she forced herself to stop thinking about it and tried to ignore it.

"Alright, good. That's better."

**'_Now what, babe?__'_**

She rubbed the back of her neck and stepped towards the door.

"I gotta calm down. I need to bake something."

**::**

Sakura was completely aware of Hidan shuffling into the kitchen a couple of hours later, but she ignored him in favor of rinsing out the large mixing bowl in her hands. It had taken her a while to find all the supplies and ingredients she needed, but now, after mixing and beating and preparing and baking, she felt much calmer.

The kitchen was filled with the smell of baking chocolate chip cookies and Sakura was fairly certain the scent had drawn Hidan in. he scuttled his way over to the oven and peered in through the little window, staring at the cookies as if he had never seen such a thing. Sakura glanced over at him with a raised eyebrow, drying off the bowl.

"Damn." He eventually said, face pressed against the oven door. "That smells fucking delicious."

Ignoring her sound of objection, he opened the door and reached in for a cookie, barely even noticing the heat. He let the cookie cool off slightly and harden in the air before holding it up, licking his lips with a grin.

Sakura crossed her arms and watched him blankly.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She warned.

Hidan snorted at the pinkette and turned to face her. "You just want to horde them for yourself!"

She sent him a bemused smirk as he took a bite and rested her hands on her hips. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Hidan's food-induced moan was cut short as his face turned an odd shade of green and he gagged. Flailing around for a few seconds, he darted for the trash can and spat the cookie chunk out, quickly shoving his head under the sink's faucet and washing out his mouth.

Sakura watched with a pleased smile and slipped an oven mitt onto her hand, removing the other cookies from the oven.

Almost immediately, the delicious chocolate chip aroma disappeared and Sakura knew that, in the next few minutes, the cookies would be hard as rocks.

"_Fuck._" Hidan exclaimed as he removed his head from the sink, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "That was _disgusting._ Don't you know how to _bake_?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and threw the oven mitt at his head.

"I tried to warn you! Despite their initial smell, my cookies are _not_ edible."

She ignored his mutter of, "That's for fucking sure." and adjusted her apron. It was entirely too big – nearly reaching down to her ankles – and she'd had to wrap the ties around her waist a few times before tying them so that it was secure. She sighed and leaned back against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I lost my ability to make anything sweet when I was 13." she explained. "I could make the most delicious chocolates and cookies but now everything tastes like tar."

She paused before smiling smugly.

"I can make a kick-ass barbeque though."

At Hidan's silence, she raised an eyebrow. After a moment, she realized that he was staring at her with a very strange expression. She watched him cautiously as he let out a breathy hiss and stepped towards her.

"Take it off." He demanded with a distracted growl.

"_What?_"

"Take the fucking apron off." With each word he took another step.

"What the he- _why?_"

He was only an arm's reach away now and looming over her with a weird glint in his eyes.

"You look entirely too fucking adorable in that apron." he said under his breath, placing his hands on either side of her on the counter, "Take it off before I rip it off myself."

Sakura sputtered and pushed him away with a scowl. Nonetheless, she untied the straps and tossed the apron onto the island counter, shooting him a glare.

"_There_. Happy now?"

He grinned cheekily and picked up one of the rock-cookies, hitting it against the counter. That fucking apron was Tobi's and he'd had enough of her smelling like one of the other members, especially after last night with her wearing Kaku-bastard's cloak. He tossed the cookie intot he air a few times and sent Sakura a raised eyebrow.

"So what are you going to do with the rest of these shitty cookies? Kind of a fucking waste of ingredients if you ask me."

Sakura nodded to herself and started gathering all the cookies. "Baking's just a stress reliever for me since everything I make is inedible, but I _do_ have a use for these."

He sent her a questioning look and the rosette gestured for him to follow.

"Oh? Fucking what?"

"Target practice." she answered with a grin.

**::**

After waking up to a sore neck, Kisame decided to step out for some fresh air, a slight hangover lingering. Massaging his neck, he walked out the front door of the building with a steaming cup of coffee in hand.

Kisame stopped short, however, at the odd sight of Hidan and Sakura launching kunai at what appeared to be airborne-cookies, a cheering Tobi standing off to the side with more cookies in his arms.

"Cha! Bullseye!"

"Take that, Kaku-cookie-fucker!"

"Yay! Tobi likes this game!"

Kisame paused, contemplating heading back inside before they noticed him. But his curiosity got the better of him and he walked forward, stopping behind the three to take a sip of his coffee.

"What are you guys doing?"

Tobi whirled around as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't, but relaxed when he realized it was Kisame. Hidan glanced over his shoulder at him, a cookie (with a face that suspiciously looked like his partner's carved onto the surface) in his hand. The silver-haired man tossed the cookie into the air and quickly flung at kunai at it, the blade embedding itself in the cookie.

"Just a little target practice, fish-face."

Kisame raised an eyebrow at him but, before he could say anything, Sakura was calling for their attention. All three looked over to her as she held up one of the cookies and faced a nearby tree.

"Hey guys, watch this." She said, pulling her arm back. She threw the cookie at the tree like a shuriken, putting a little spin on it as she added a bit of chakra. The cookie sliced through the air and Sakura gave a cheer as it was quickly embedded halfway in the tree trunk.

She grinned back at them and watched their reactions.

Kisame blinked and sent her a curious look.

"...You've weaponized baked goods, Kitten."

She laughed and both Tobi and Hidan were quick to start flinging cookies at the tree after they overcame their initial shock. Sakura grinned and dusted cookie crumbs from her hands. As Kisame groaned and massaged his forehead, she looked over, her smile slipping to a frown.

"You okay, Hammerhead? Looking pretty groggy."

He glanced over at her, taking another sip of his coffee. "Just a little hung-over; nothing I can't handle or you need to worry your pretty little head about."

Her grin returned and she grabbed his hand, pulling him down a bit. He sent her a questioning look but she simply smiled, placing her hands on either side of his head.

"I can help with that." Sakura said, her hands soon glowing green.

Almost immediately, her cook chakra washed over him and soothed away his headache. He felt himself give a crooked smile as his eyes closed. But, her hands were soon gone, along with the pleasant feel of her chakra. He was left feeling much more awake and his head felt clear and clean. He opened his eyes to look at her and grinned loosely, straightening up and dropping a hand onto her head.

"Thanks, Kitten." He said, "Hate to make you waste chakra on such a simple thing though."

She laughed and ducked out from under his hand before he could ruffle her hair or anything. "It's no problem, really."

He grinned and turned back to the entrance of the base, sending her a wave in farewell. He chuckled to himself as he overheard Hidan and Tobi before he shut he door behind him, taking another sip of his coffee.

"Yo, yo Sak! I'm hung-over too!"

"Tobi is more!"

"Fuck off, pipsqueak. She's healing _me_ first!"

"But Hidan-senpai has already _been_ healed by Sakura-chan! Its Tobi's turn!"

"Guys, guys calm down. I can heal you _both_, though I honestly doubt _either_ of you have hangovers."

**::**

Sakura had just sat down to read a book when Itachi trudged into the living room. Hidan shifted next to her and Deidara took advantage of her moment of distraction to snatch her book from her hands. Kisame looked up and sent his partner an amused grin.

"Hey, you don't look so good. Drink too much last night?"

Sakura could honestly see no different in the Uchiha's stance or expression that suggested he was unwell. She supposed Kisame must have been able to tell after so many years of working with him.

Itachi simply sent him a glare, standing stock-still in the doorway.

Kisame merely chuckled, "You know, Kitten could get rid of your hangover likity-split." He offered.

Sakura's attention snapped to Kisame as she forced down her look of horror.

Kisame glanced over to her and raised an eyebrow at her reaction. "Come on, Kitten. It's not like he's going to bite or anything. Besides, this is technically going to be you _job_."

She sighed, almost flinching as she realized that Itachi was staring at her. She inwardly groaned and stood, hands becoming clammy as she approached him. Sakura was only a step away when he suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the room and down the hallway. She barely heard him hiss out, "We need to talk." before she even realized what was happening. She was aware of hearing Deidara and Hidan shout in surprise, but then they'd turned a corner and Sakura finally managed to respond.

She firmly planted her feet on the ground and forced Itachi to a halt, eyes narrowed at him as he looked back at her with an indecipherable expression. His grip tightened on her wrist, the same one he had broken earlier, and spoke under his breath at her.

"Do not argue with me, Sakura."

He seemed to stop short as he realized he's used her first name and rubbed at his head. He quickly composed himself and tugged her along without another word.

She was justa bout to _force_ him to let her go and make a run for it when Inner's voice echoed through her head.

**'_Just go with him; trust me, hun.'_**

Sakura's face twisted into a scowl and she mentally groaned in irritation. _'If he kills me, I'm blaming you.'_

But then Itachi was pulling her into a room and shutting the door behind her. He turned to her, arms crossed over his chest.

"What do you know." he demanded, "What did you _see_."

Sakura didn't miss a beat as she narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms. She was getting real tired of this bullshit.

"What did _you_ see?" she countered.

He paused, unsettlingly silent, before answering her, hissing under his breath again.

"You are not rogue. You are a _spy_."

She inwardly flailed as she realized he did indeed know everything, but outwardly kept a calm face.

"Now, answer me." He said, stepping forward. "What. Did. You. _See._"

She was silent for a moment as she searched for an answer. She hadn't _technically_ seen anything but...

**'_The truth.'_** Inner offered.

Sakura waited only a second more before answering him.

"Th-the truth." She whispered, cursing the uncertainty in her voice.

Itachi took another step forward, eyes narrowing at her.

"You do not seem very sure, Haruno."

And then her composure broke and she gave up trying to keep up her calm façade.

And she started babbling.

"I didn't actually _see_ anything because I won't let myself, but it's there in my head, just out of reach, and I'm supposed to believe you're not a complete jackass and _won't_ kill me, but I highly doubt that, and how are you able to make coherent sentences, your brain should be a pile of mush after seeing that much of my own memories, what is _with_ you Uchihas, I don't even-!"

"Enough." He interrupted, shoulders drooping as he seemed to relax. Sakura's mouth snapped shut as she watched him warily. He retreated back to the door and leaned against the frame, contemplating her.

"All that has been said is safe within these walls; all the rooms are soundproof with jutsu." He said blankly, as if to reassure her.

Sakura blinked. It hadn't even considered to her that someone might have overheard them. At the back of her mind, she was vaguely aware of thinking that this was probably the most _anyone_ had ever heard Uchiha Itachi speak in one sitting (or at all). But, she still couldn't help but watch him apprehensively.

Again, he broke the silence.

"It would seem that, from here on, we are allies, Haruno-san."

Her eyes widened, "A-allies?"

The corner of his mouth tilted up minisculely and Sakura could only blink in surprise as she noticed the red in his eyes disappear with her peripheral vision.

He'd deactivated his Sharingan.

Sakura looked up to fully meet his gaze, searching for any reason not to trust him. She found no ill-will or deceit in his gaze; nothing that suggested he was lying or planning anything.

Her body relaxed and she slowly nodded, deciding that she _would _trust Uchiha Itachi.

"I will aid you in your goal, when the time comes." He said, charcoal eyes staring directly into her emerald. "But, mark my words, if any of your actions compromise _my_ mission, I will be forced to act."

A chill shot down her spine but she forced herself to keep his gaze.

"I understand, Uchiha-san." She replied before pausing. She allowed herself to smile softy and held out her hand.

"Now, how about I fix that headache of yours?"

**::**

Tsunade knew, the moment Neji stepped into her office to turn in his mission report, that Naruto would soon be breaking down her door. It was only seconds after the Hyuuga turned to leave that the blonde arrived, expression frantic.

"Tsunade!" he exclaimed as he rushed to her desk, the usual _–baachan_ missing. "Tell me it _isn't true_." he demanded, paying no mind to the confused Neji. "They're _lying_."

She could feel her heart crumble, bit by bit, at the look in his yes. A small part of her own sadness slipped in with her stern gaze as she spoke.

"I'm sorry Naruto-"

"No-"

"But she's gone-"

"She _isn't_ -"

"And the evidence suggest that she left by her own choice-"

"She _couldn't _have-"

"Haruno Sakura has been flagged as a missing-nin."

"**_No!_**"

**::**

**notes:** First off, the real Star Festival in Japan is July 7th, but we can all ignore that fact for the sake of plot~

Well, that's chapter 7!

Finally brought Naruto back into the picture. And hopefully I've answered a few of your questions about Itachi and Sakura.

I'd actually planned from the very beginning that Itachi would learn about the real reason Sakura was at the Akatsuki. I've got a few other things planned for him that has to do with the whole 'exchanging of memories' but that won't come into play until a little while later in the story.

Thank you all for waiting so patiently! I'm so sorry this took so long to get out! I've got the next chapter all written out; I just need to type it up and voila!

I'm not sure if I'll be updating this or _Tempest_ next, so stay tuned!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter everyone!

Stay lovely, my friends.

**::Thirrin73::**


	9. Chapter Eight: The Truth Hurts

**notes: **Aaand I'm back with the next chapter! This didn't take months luckily; just had to get myself to sit down and actually type it up since I already had everything written!

This chapter is pretty short, just letting you guys know. The next one should be longer though!

Thank you all for welcoming me back and leaving such lovely reviews!

Also, from here on, Madara will begin to come into play. I mentioned this back in the first few chapters, but I'll reiterate here. I'll be using my own version of Tobi/Madara because the whole Obito thing is just too complicated for this story and doesn't fit with what I want to happen.

Well, enjoy!

See you at the bottom.

**::**

_**Sugar Cube**_

_**-Chapter Eight-**_

_**The Truth Hurts**_

**::**

**November 18, 2:45 PM**

Sakura's hands froze in their place on Itachi's forehead as she, out of habit, let her chakra fan out and check the rest of his body. She frowned a bit, pausing her healing for a moment to more firmly focus on what she'd found. She gasped softly and met his gaze as he looked up at her.

"Your eyes..." She trailed off and he narrowed his gaze at her.

"I do not need your pi-"

She interrupted him with a hiss, "You overzealous _idiot_," and grabbed his face to pull him closer as her hands glowed a deeper shade of green. "Keeping your Sharingan activated all the time only _worsens_ the damage done to your eyes. You're nearly fucking _blind_ Uchiha! Kami, what is _with_ you men - thinking you can just keep your injuries a secret? You should have had a medic check you _ages_ ago. Any longer and you'd be blind as a bat!"

Itachi regarded her coolly, inwardly a little shocked as he felt a bit of the pressure behind his eyes be relieved.

"Are you quite done?"

"_Hell_ no. I'm going to keep nagging you until you get it through your thick skull that you _aren't_ invincible or indestructible." She scowled down at him and adjusted her hand placement so that her fingertips were gently pressing the bone surrounding his eye sockets. "You're lucky I know what to do. Kakashi-sensei ha-"

She stopped short and her mouth snapped shut. She felt her chest tighten and she pressed her lips together stubbornly. She silently began the painfully slow process of repairing the damage done to Itachi's eyes for a few minutes before sighing.

"It will take a while, but I should be able to heal most of it. But I can only work for short periods of time; too much at once could just add to the damage." She sent him a serious look, fully descended into her medic-mode. "Every day. Half an hour or so. You come to me or I find you and pin you down. Understood?"

He was silent but she took his slow blink and slight head-tilt as a confirmation.

She grinned at him and went back to work, her own eyes closing as she focused on her task at hand.

It was some time towards the end of the half hour, as she sat back, a big chunk of her chakra and energy missing, that he spoke again.

"Thank you."

**::**

When Sakura reentered the living room, she was immediately tackled to the ground by Tobi, who pawed at her face and shoulders as he made a strangled sort of whiny, gurgling sound.

"You're okay!" he exclaimed, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling her face. "Sakura-chan was gone for so long! Tobi thought Itachi-san had _killed_ you."

Sakura blanched and attempted to coax Tobi into letting her go. "I'm fine, Tobi. Really!"

But he had firmly latched onto her and refused to release her.

Fortunately, Hidan was quick to grab Tobi by the back of his shirt and toss him off of her. Sakura sat up and took Deidara's offered hand, making a face at him as the mouth licked her palm.

"Seriously, though." Hidan said, crossing his arms and scowling at her. "What took so fucking long?"

"Yeah, un. That was a lot of time to heal a headache." Deidara added, shooting Itachi a glare as he appeared in the doorway. Kisame sent the Uchiha a raised eyebrow from his place on one of the recliners but didn't say anything.

Sakura huffed and made her way to the couch, plopping down into the seat. "He needed a checkup," she answered simply, massaging her still-sore wrist. "As a matter of face, you _all _do. Who knows what secret injuries or diseases you guys might have."

They all seemed to shuffle nervously and Sakura pursed her lips. Why did guys hate getting checked by medics so much?

"Calm down, calm down." she said with a sigh, "Lucky for you four, I'm too tired at the moment to force you to sit still or check you over." She leaned back and let her eyes close, one cracking open when Tobi spoke.

"Why are you tired, Sakura-chan? Did you not get enough sleep last night?"

She grimaced and tried to come up with a good enough excuse. That fight with Itachi had exhausted her, both physically and mentally, but she couldn't tell them about that.

"I, er-"

"We sparred." Itachi interjected suddenly, face blank as they all looked over to him in shock. She felt her face heat up as he met her eye and spoke once more before falling silent.

"Haruno-san is a very formidable opponent."

It was awkwardly quiet in the room until Hidan broke the silence, moving to stand next to Sakura, beside the couch.

"I was wondering about those bruises on your neck." he growled, glaring darkly at Itachi.

Sakura's hand darted to her throat as she realized that she must have forgotten to heal herself there. Deidara was soon crouched down in front of her, moving her hand away to inspect the bruises. He touched them tenderly, frowning as she flinched slightly, and shot the nonchalant Uchiha a glower.

"What the hell, un? Were you _choking_ her?"

Kisame sent his partner a very chiding look and Sakura was highly surprised to see something flash through Itachi's eyes briefly.

Guilt?

But, before anyone could say or do anything, she attempted to console them.

"Guys, guys. It's okay. Really. Look." She put a hand to her neck and quickly healed the bruises with what little chakra she had reserved, smiling weakly. "See? All better. It's no big deal."

They didn't seem very convinced so Sakura sighed and stood, brushing past them to get to the doorway.

"I'm going to take a nap." she muttered before pausing, hand on the doorframe as she looked over her shoulder at the men, emerald eyes narrowed.

"And, just to remind you all, I'm fully capable of taking care of myself - I'm sick and tired of people treating me like I can't."

And, with that, she left for her room.

**::**

They were all staring at Itachi, watching him with expressions varying from annoyance, exasperation, and anger.

He simply stood there, expression blank.

"I was simply testing her and her abilities." he deadpanned, eyes closed nonchalantly.

"Bullshit." Hidan growled, "You've had it out for Pinky ever since she got here."

Itachi ignored him and crossed his arms. "I was only doing what would benefit the organization. If Haruno-san could not even decently hold her own against myself in a spar, she would not be of much use to the Akatsuki."

He fell silent once more, refusing to speak again even once they started confronting him.

"Do you have any idea how exhausted she must have been, un?" Deidara demanded, eyes narrowed at the Uchiha. "In the last four days, she's fought and beaten both Kisame and Hidan, healed their asses, did some other healing on the side, traveled from Ame to here, put up with us for an entire night of bullshit, and probably a whole bunch of other crap beforehand." He pursed his lips and brushed his bangs out of his eye. "Give her a break, un. She deserves to rest without you bothering her."

Something akin to surprise flashed through Itachi's eyes but no one noticed.

Kisame was about to add in his two-sense when Tobi spoke, the temperature almost dropping in the room as they all tensed at the sound of his now much deeper and serious voice.

"Enough."

They all fell silent, very nearly holding their breaths.

"Itachi-san was right to test the girl. The whole point of these two weeks is to test Haruno-san and determine if she is worthy of joining the Akatsuki." His head turned to face Hidan and Deidara, a flash of red appearing within the eyehole of the mask.

"And you two," they stiffened, "Stop babying her. Haruno-san is right; she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself."

He paused and chuckled before the heavy atmosphere in the room quickly dispersed. Tobi shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Mm, Tobi's head hurts."

And they all gave a collective, internal sigh of relief, falling into silence for a while.

However, about a half hour later, their attention was drawn to the sound of the front door slamming shut and the muffled thud of a body hitting the floor. The five rushed to the source, stopping short at the sight of Kakuzu slumped against the door, bloody wounds covering his body.

Before anyone could react, Sakura was suddenly there, pushing past them to get to Kakuzu, a serious yet worried look on her face. She instantly knelt down beside him, hands glowing green as she started barking orders at the men.

Once they overcame their initial shock, they quickly went about doing as she demanded.

She slung the unconscious Kakuzu's arm over her shoulders and heaved him to his feet, dragging him to the living room as her expression grew grim.

**::**

**November 18, 10:15 AM**

Naruto refused to believe them.

They were _wrong._

They were _lying_.

She _couldn't _have left.

He was at her apartment and unlocking the door with the spare key she'd given him before he even realized he'd left the Hokage Tower.

He'd conduct his own investigation and find the culprit that had taken her.

He might not have such a heightened sense of smell like the Inuzuka's but he _knew _Sakura-chan's scent and would be able to tell if anyone else had been in her apartment. But, as Naruto searched, desperately trying to find some sort of clue, nothing seemed to stand out. Nothing was out of place, besides the empty cabinets, and he was left wondering what sort of cunning nin had been able to take Sakura-chan by surprise and leave no trace of their presence.

It wasn't until he'd entered her bedroom that he felt his heart drop.

Only one thing drew in his attention.

The old photograph of Team 7 from back when they were gennin.

The picture that she cherished so much.

Lying face down on teh table.

Not knocked over; he could tell.

_Placed _face down.

He knew, then and there, what it meant.

And, even as he cried out in anguish, he still couldn't believe that she'd left.

**::**

**notes:** Partially the reason this chapter is so short (really, really short compared to my normal chapters wow I'm sorry you guys) is because I wanted to leave you guys with that little cliffhanger, ahahahaaa. Next chapter will most likely be longer though!

I don't think Naruto will be showing back up for a while. He might, but I'm not entirely certain.

I'm...not all that content with this chapter. But I owed you guys an update and I've had this sitting in a journal for months.

I think there was something else I wanted to say here but my brain's deciding that it doesn't want to fully cooperate right now so I'll just leave you guys with this.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'll see you next time.

Stay lovely, my friends.

**::Thirrin73::**


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